Not only will Eric Chrabot be riding into history this month as a member of the Pennsylvania cycling team competing against an international field in a first-of-its-kind race across the state, he'll also be riding along with history.

His precision bicycle, made of carbon fiber and titanium, will follow in the wheeled tracks that Conestoga wagons made 250 years ago when the first primitive route was cut by the British Empire from Philadelphia across the primeval mountains to the Forks of the Ohio, the site of present-day Pittsburgh.

"This race is special," he said. "It has the biggest purse any of us have competed for. It's an awesome time for families and kids to get to know what cycling's all about, and people will get to learn their history at the same time."

Officially known as the "American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5," the race is a 450-mile test of speed and endurance for riders between the ages of 18 and 24. Featuring 20 teams of six riders each from around the country and around the world, it will be run over six days from June 24 to June 29.

Riders will be competing for $150,000 in prize money, the richest purse in the world for an espoir, a French word that translates to hope, in that the competitors hope to compete in the Olympics or Tour de France-type races when they get older.

The race is also a signature event in the yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the naming of Pittsburgh and the birth of communities such as Bedford and Ligonier, which began life as outposts along the Forbes Trail in 1758.

The race course will be run mostly on U.S. Route 30, which roughly parallels the first route over the Allegheny Mountains that involved the wheel. That road was hacked out by 6,000 British and colonial troops -- including a young George Washington -- under the command of Gen. John Forbes.

The British intent wasn't so much shock and awe as it was brute force logistics to bring to bear the overwhelming force of a superpower. The route was needed for scores of horse-drawn wagons to haul siege cannons, ammunition and tons of supplies to evict the French from Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.

"It's how Pittsburgh came to be, and it shaped the map of Pennsylvania by eliminating claims to the region by Virginia," said Bill Flanagan, executive director of Pittsburgh 250, an umbrella organization promoting the birth and history of the city of three rivers. "But it also re-shaped the map of the world because whoever controlled the Ohio would control settlement of the continent. With a bicycle race that follows the original road, we connect our past to the present and to tomorrow."

In short, the event is a road map to the origins of a city, a state and a new nation that started with troops wearing red coats or buckskins and now features cyclists wearing lycra, nylon and aerodynamic helmets. During the race, 120 bicycles will be speeding to Pittsburgh along the route that 120 or so wagons, the 18-wheelers of their day, first crossed the rugged mountain chain that serves as the backbone of Pennsylvania.

Long and hilly

As the manufacturers of orange cones and Jersey barriers can attest, Pennsylvania's geography is a challenge to road builders and travelers even in modern times. Imagine what it was like without pavement, tunnels through mountains or bridges across valleys, streams and rivers into territory occupied by indigenous tribes wary of outsiders.

In 1758, there was a rudimentary dirt road leading from Philadelphia to Carlisle, with a ferry across the Susquehanna River. But at the first mountain barrier, Tuscarora Summit, the only way into the outback was a Native American foot path.

Troops that marched to the skirl of bagpipes and the cadence of drummers assaulted the unbroken forest with axes, mattocks and shovels. Their reaction was similar to what cyclists felt when they negotiated the terrain during a recent reconnaissance run.

"Pretty tough," said Michael Chauner, a rider with the Pennsylvania Lightning cycling team and a senior at Bucknell University. "It'll be a long test for us."

The Lightning is a developmental team of college-age riders. Formed last year to promote cycling in Pennsylvania, it competed in 40 events against national and international racers, posting a dozen top-three finishes. Most of them have competed in national championships and in Europe, where bicycle racing and soccer are what football, baseball, golf, tennis and other sports competitions are to American youth.

"We definitely have the makings of a really good squad," said Mr. Chauner, 21, of West Chester, Chester County, whose father was an Olympic champion.

Also part of the Lightning are Taylor Brown, 20, of Fleetwood, Berks County, who with Chauner rode on last year's team; Chris Ruhl, 21, of Quakertown, Bucks County; Kyle Wagner, 23, of Bethlehem, Lehigh County; Jeff Salvitti, 20, of West Chester; Ben Showman, 22, of Fairfield, Ohio, a West Point cadet; and Mr. Chrabot, 22, of Virginia Beach, Va., and captain of the Virginia Tech cycling team.

Other teams will be fielded from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden plus U.S. teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New England, New York and North Carolina.

And what can spectators expect?

"Cycling is a mix of chess, Formula One racing and marathon running," Mr. Chrabot said. "It almost turns into a poker game on wheels. You have to be thinking at 30 mph. And then, when you get near the finish line of any of the stages, it turns into football or rugby. The competition is really fierce."

Finish Downtown

The finish line for the final stage of the race is the intersection of Stanwix Street and the Boulevard of the Allies, a short sprint away from the site that Gen. Forbes claimed 250 years ago. The racers will have come a long way to miss The Point, which has gone through several different lives to become a state park with a signature fountain. The park is restricted pending completion of a renovation.

Blood was shed during the campaign as the Empire struck back, but in the final assault, Gen. Forbes never had to fire the cannons that took so much effort to haul. Just the knowledge that a deadly force was bearing down from the east prompted the French to exhaust their gun powder by blowing up Fort Duquesne before fleeing north on the Allegheny River. Gen. Forbes found a smoking ruin and claimed the site for the Empire, naming it for William Pitt, the British statesman who organized the expedition and whose black-and-gold coat of arms now flies on the city flag.

In his letter of triumph back to England, Gen. Forbes referred to the place as "Pittsbourgh" and prophesied that "these dreary deserts will soon be the richest and most fertile of any possessed by the British in North America."

Gen. Forbes, mortally ill from an ailment that could have been stomach cancer, departed with his main force a week later. He died within days of returning to Philadelphia. A hardy band of 200 soldiers stayed behind to endure the winter and build Fort Pitt.

A city did rise from the site, but it came into its own under the Stars and Stripes instead of the Union Jack. And at the very least, it will be the finish line to the richest bicycle race in its class.