INQUIRER Sports

ORGANIZERS OF THE PADYAK PINOY promised a tougher kind of competition after asking the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to include the multistage bike race in the Asian Pro Tour calendar next year.

Gary Cayton, chair of the Padyak Pinoy organizing committee, said a request for enrollment to elevate the annual tour to the status of an international event was sent last month to the UCI following a successful staging in May.

“Results emerging from the (2009 Padyak Pinoy) Invitational Challenge seem to indicate that our riders are now ready to meet their foreign counterparts,” said Cayton. “With their showing, we have gained enough confidence to host a UCI-backed cycling event.”

Endorsed by PhilCycling president Abraham Tolentino, the application of Padyak organizer Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc. was received by the UCI through Sophie Parvex of the world body’s road racing department.

The four-day international race is tentatively set to start on Apr. 8, 2010. It will kick off with the 155 km Tagaytay-Tagaytay Stage 1 followed by the 125 km The Fort to Clark Field Stage 2, the 150 km Clark-Subic-Clark (via SCTEx) Stage 3 and the 160 km Subic-Subic Stage 4.

“It’s about time to place the Philippines in the world cycling map again, considering the growing number of cycling enthusiasts and lately, the active role of private companies In promoting the sport,” said Cayton.

The Philippines was on the UCI calendar from 1996 to 1998 when the cycling marathon was still called the Marlboro Tour.