MVP Group brings Tour back to life

MANILA, Philippines — Cycling’s fabled Tour of Luzon will have another great revival.

And it will come via the much-awaited eight-stage, 1,050-kilometer race that will be flagged off from up North in Laoag on April 24 and conclude in mountaintop Baguio on May 1.

“It can’t die,” said Pato Gregorio, head of the organizing DuckWorld PH, during yesterday’s event launch at the Meralco Lighthouse in Ortigas, Pasig referring to the legendary race that came to life in 1955, closed in the late 90s and was resuscitated in 2002.

The summer spectacle was shelved again during the pandemic and could have been lost in time anew if not for the intercession of Gregorio, whose ambitious vision breathed life to it once more.

“We conceptualized it more than a year ago because of our chairman (Manny V. Pangilinan), who kept saying ‘I want to see a Filipino or a Philippine team in the Tour de France.’ Even back then, MVP kept saying it repeatedly,” said Gregorio.

“That’s why when we proposed this project to MVP, he said yes right away,” he added.

“The Tour of Luzon is not just a race; it is a symbol of grandness and nobility. Its greatness lies in its vision – a vision that dared to conquer the impossible through sheer force of will, discipline, and determination,” said Pangilinan.

The stars aligned since then as Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., a company under the MVP Group, through its chief regulatory officer Arrey Perez and other groups like the Philippine Sports Commission chaired by Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling chief Abraham Tolentino have made the tour’s return a reality.

“On behalf of the entire cycling community, we would like to express our gratitude to the MVP Group and DuckWorld for reviving the Tour of Luzon,” said Tolentino.