Pinoys ready to challenge foreign bets in Le Tour

MANILA, Philippines - Two years since Baler Ravina’s historic triumph, Filipino riders try to barge into the champion’s circle anew as they slug it out with 13 crack foreign teams from 11 nations in the fifth edition of Le Tour de Filipinas from April 21-24.

7-Eleven RoadBike and Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance will carry the fight for Phl in the four-stage, 616-km race that features a highlight ride on three of the country’s most modern highways in Central Luzon.

Standing on their way are seasoned rivals from Australia (Stalyst Giant Racing Team); Brunei (CCN Cycling Team); Indonesia (Pegasus Continental Team); Iran (TSR Continental); Ireland (Polygon Sweet Nice); Japan (Aisan Racing Team and Team Ukyo); Kazakhstan (Track Team Astana and Kazakhstan National Team); Malaysia (Terangganu Pro Asia Cycling Team); Mongolia (Attila Cycling Club); Singapore (OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team); and UAE (UAE Cycling Team).

Foreigners have dominated three of the four stagings of the UCI-sanction race, with the Iranians reigning twice (Rahim Emami of Azad in 2011 and Ghader Mizbani of Tabriz last year) and the Irish ruling the inaugural edition in 2010 (David McCann of Giant Asia). Ravina broke through in 2012.

PhilCycling chairman and cycling godfather Bert Lina, Le Tour organizer Jerry Jara and PhilCycling president Bambol Tolentino said the members of 7-Eleven and PN-Standard represent “the cream of the crop of Phl cycling.” 

“As always we’re very hopeful na manalo ang ating two teams; lahat tayo pinagdarasal na sila ang manalo sa event. At saka dapat manalo sila kasi teritoryo natin ito, di ba? Pero dapat practice, di naman pwede maski kabisado ang daan, kung kulang sa practice, wag sila mag-expect na manalo (We’re always praying that the champion will come from our two teams, especially since we’re on home turf. But we should complement familiarity with the route with lots of practice, otherwise we shouldn’t expect to win),” said Lina during yesterday’s press conference at Manila Hotel.

Ravina, the first Phl cyclist to win a UCI race, and veteran Mark Galedo are expected to spearhead the 7-Eleven Roadbike team while Lucien Lloyd Reynante and Santi Barnachea are tipped to banner Navy.

Deviating from its traditional start in Northern Luzon, the 2014 Le Tour goes down to Central Luzon for the kickoff leg, bringing the 80 participants to Clark in Pampanga in a 153-km ride to Olongapo City.

Stage Two will feature the so-called “Triple-X Stage,” a 147-km ride from Olongapo to Cabanatuan going through well-paved roads of Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the brand new Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

According to Jara, this “highlight stage” will challenge the riders’ speed-riding skills and endurance on flat  and well-paved roads before the competition shifts to high gear and test the competitors’ knees in mountainous terrains in the last two stages.

“We’re all excited with how the complexion of the race would be this time with the Triple-X stage,” said Jara, adding that making use of the three expressways is intended to “showcase our country’s road to progress” and “help promote tourism.”

Stage Three will see the cyclists pedaling 146.6km from Cabanatuan to Bayombong, Nueva Ecija, over the foothills of the Sierra Madre and over Dalton Pass.

Then they set off on the final push in the so-called “Northern Alps of Phl.” Stage Four from Bayombong to Baguio takes riders on a 132.7k roller-coaster stage on the Cordilleras through Kayapa Highway and Ambuklao Dam, pushing their climbing skills to the limit.

“Sa loob ng five years, ito ang pinakamahirap. Yung stages ngayon, halos mga akyatin mula first lap hanggang fourth. Merong eight na akyatin (This is the toughest since we have a lot of steep climbs),” said race director Paking Rivas. “Kung ang Filipino may ensayo, pwedeng manalo (With sufficient training, I think Filipinos have a chance.)”

Commisaire Ding Cruz expects an exciting race, looking out for teams from Kazakhstan, Australia, Japan, and Ireland. 

“When you have very good teams, they’re gonna fight like hell and this is going to be exciting,” he said.

A total of $16,540 (P744,300) is at stake in the 2014 Le Tour. PhilCycling has also made the event a qualifying for the Asian Cycling Championships in July in Kazakhstan, awarding Phl team slots to the Top 6 Filipino finishers.