| MagicMan13 | Date: Friday, 2011-04-08, 5:19 AM | Message # 1 |
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| MANILA—Filipino cyclists are in for a rough ride in the 2011 Le Tour de Filipinas after 10 foreign squads signed up for the four-day Manila to Baguio City race set to kick off on April 16.
Overall Tour chair Bert Lina said homegrown teams Smart, 7-Eleven, American Vinyl, Wow Videoke, Roadbike Philippines and Air21 are expected to carry the challenge for the local riders, all of them seeking a considerable piece of the $26,000 (roughly P1.12 million) total prize.
Standing in their way are South Africa’s Team DCM, Giant Kenda of Malaysia, CNN Colosi of the Netherlands, Iran’s Suren Cycling, OCBC of Singapore, Bridgestone (Japan), Snow Leopard (Mongolia), Azad University (Iran) and Malaysia’s Terenganu Team and Le Tua Cycling.
“Our riders are highly motivated and will not be intimidated,” said Lina, who spearheaded the revival of the Tour and is chair emeritus of PhilCycling.
“Inviting these foreign teams will definitely elevate the level of competition, which will benefit our cyclists in the long run,” added the Air21 chair and acknowledged godfather of local cycling.
David McCann will return to the scene of his triumph after winning the four-stage bikathon by about six minutes over local talents Lloyd Lucien Reynante and Baler Ravina last year.
Still expected to come out strong despite his age, the 39-year-old Irishman of Giant Kenda is a three-time champion of the Irish national road race and had won the Tours of Korea and Indonesia.
The 2011 Le Tour, which is being staged under the advocacy “Save the Seas,” is presented by Kia Motors.
Also present during yesterday’s press conference were Tagaytay City Mayor and PhilCycling president Abraham Tolentino and Paquito Rivas, whose Philippine National Cycling Association will handle the technical aspect of running the race. June Navarro, Inquirer.net
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