‘Northern Alps’ highlights 2012 Le Tour

MANILA, Philippines—The world of cycling shifts its focus on the Philippines anew in April as the 2012 Le Tour de Filipinas, the forerunner of the fabled Tour, hits the road on an unfamiliar but extremely more challenging route up north.

With Air21 returning as presentor of the Le Tour, this year’s edition slated April 14 to 17 kicks off in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, and ends at the Burnham Park in Baguio City on a non-traditional route.

The Dynamic Outsource Solutions, Inc. (Dos-1), organizer of the only international race in the country that is on the Asia Tour calendar of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has drawn a culminating but expectedly dramatic final stage that will pass through the “Northern Alps,” a mountain-top ride on the Cordilleras that approaches the Summer Capital from the back door.

“The first three stages are a sprinters’ paradise, but come the ‘Northern Alps,’ the complexion of the race drastically and dramatically changes,” said Dos-1 president and race organizer Gary Cayton.

Stage One will start in Port Irene in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, with Cagayan Rep. Jackie Enrile flagging off the riders to their destination 155 kms away in Tuguegarao City. Stage Two will be all of 110 kms from Tuguegarao to Cauayan City, while Stage Three will be a short 102-km ride to Bayombong, enough to prepare the riders for the treacherous 153-km race to Baguio City the next day.

The Le Tour is part of the commitment of cycling godfather and Air21 chair Bert Lina, the former president of the PhilCycling.