MANILA---Another wave of foreign cyclists is threatening to steal the show in the 2011 Le Tour de Filipinas.
But 40 homegrown riders are determined to foil the visiting entries in the four-day multistage bikathon set to fire off tomorrow with an 86-kilometer circuit run on Roxas Boulevard and Macapagal Highway.
American Vinyl’s Cris Joven, Road Bike Philippines’ Dante Cagas, 7-Eleven’s Lloyd Lucien Reynante, Eusebio Quinones of Shopinas, Santi Barnachea of Wow Videoke, Air21’s Arnel Quirimit, Tomas Martinez Jr. of Smart and Mark Julius Bonzo of Kia-PhilCycling Under-23 will spearhead their respective teams to snatch the crown this time.
Reynante and Baler Ravina carried the fight for the Filipinos last year but Irishman David McCann was just too seasoned and wily for them at the end of the four-stage race.
McCann will be aiming for a second consecutive individual title of the $26,000 Tour as skipper of Malaysia’s Giant Kenda.
Other foreign teams targeting a piece of the P1,120,000 total prize package are CNN Colosi of the Netherlands, Singapore’s OCBC, Iran’s Azad University and Suren Cycling Team, Malaysia’s Terenganu PASM and Bridgestone/Anchor of Japan.
Seventy-five cyclists, half of them with foreign credentials, will represent the 15 teams of five riders each.
Filipino riders
Despite the odds, overall Tour chair Bert Lina is confident the Filipino riders will exceed expectations this time.
“Our riders are highly motivated and will not be intimidated,” said Lina during the Le Tour’s launch recently at the Manila Pavillion.
“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 Philippine cycling.
The 2011 Le Tour, which is being staged under the advocacy “Save the Seas,” is organized by Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc. and presented by Kia Motors with Smart, Air21 and the Lucio Tan Group of Companies led by Tanduay as partners.
Other sponsors are Maynilad, Sign Media and Canondale-Mavic.
Also present during the press briefing were Tagaytay City mayor and PhilCycling president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Paquito Rivas, whose Philippine National Cycling Association will handle the technical aspect of running the race.
Sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and endorsed by Tolentino, the foreign-spiced multi-stage race is included in the Asia Tour calendar of the UCI, the world governing body in the sport.
Gary Cayton, chair of the organizing committee, the cyclists, coaches and managers will be feted to a glamorous opening ceremony at the Palacio de Manila on Roxas Boulevard to be graced by Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
After the opening stage, the Tour entourage will travel to Bataan where the second stage, a 157.6-km Balanga to Iba (Zambales) run, will be held on April 17.
The third stage will take the cyclists to Lingayen, Pangasinan, on Day 3 followed by the 156.2-km ascent to Baguio City via Kennon Road on April 18.
June Navarro, Inquirer.net
