Amazing Tour in historic return

After a five-year hiatus, the Tour of Luzon raced back with a bang in a “Great Revival” that was highlighted by a dramatic finish to cap an eight-day odyssey starting in Paoay and ending in Baguio last Friday.

“The thrill of cycling just keeps growing,” said event organizer DuckWorld president Patrick Gregorio. “From zero to 102 million organic views across all digital platforms in less than two months – what a ride. We registered 100,000 Facebook followers and a million TikTok likes. Cycling in the Philippines is back, stronger than ever, here to stay and ready to conquer the world.” Total views increased from 41.3 million over five laps to 80 million over seven and finally, to 102 million, excluding media mileage and mentions from pages other than the Tour platform.

Gregorio said at the Scout Hill finish line in Camp John Hay, Joo Dae Yeong was in tears as he thought his overall lead had gone up in smoke after a 22nd place windup in the last stage where the Korean rider endured a flat rear tire. Joo cried even more after finding out he managed to win the first prize of P1 million by six seconds over runner-up Joshua Pascual.

“At the onset, we thought it was impossible to mount this,” said Gregorio. “Nobody could believe that we planned all of this in two months. But Boss MVP (sports patron Manny V. Pangilinan) believed and MPTC (Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.) supported. We knew that cycling is a very popular sport. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that cycling might be the most popular sport in the Philippines.”

MPTC chief regulatory officer and Tour executive director Arrey Perez called it an unforgettable ride. “The summer spectacle is back and we can’t wait to do it all again, farther, longer and much, much better,” he said. DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla, guest of honor at the Tour closing ceremony, described the race as a great unifying force. “The Tour has traversed, excited and galvanized communities across seven provinces in Luzon,” he said. “We’re honored to provide the support to make this event a huge success because we understand what this means for Filipinos.”