INQUIRER Sports

AS A FORMER NATIONAL RIDER AND TOUR champion, Renato Dolosa’s sound judgment is telling him that victory in a three-stage international race could very well be determined on the second day.

Dolosa will handle a six-man team tapped to don the national colors in the Perlis Open in Malaysia and Indonesia’s Tour de East Java where the top riders in Asia are expected to show up.

Tour veteran Lloyd Reynante will be the skipper of the team bankrolled by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association, American Vinyl (LPGMA) and Liquigaz, the same group of cycling enthusiasts that revived the Tour of Luzon during the summer.

Dolosa said they train almost on a daily basis, making them fit for the tough grind ahead.

“We’re aiming for a top three finish in the team event,” said Dolosa, Tour of Luzon champion in 1992 and 1995. “Except for Lloyd (Reynante), all of them are new to this kind of competition.”

Ronnel Hualda, Lloyd Berjamie, Glenmar Robosa, Cris Joven and Jeff Monton are also included in the LPGMA-RP team set to leave for Malaysia today in time for the July 28 to 30 Perlis Open and in preparation for the Tour de East Java on Aug. 8 to 10.

The Perlis Open is a 590-kilometer massed start race traditionally held in Alor Setar, a high-altitude area near the border of Thailand.

It has been classified as a 2.2-level race by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) along with the Tour de East Java, another three-stage contest where European riders normally participate.

“The eventual winner of the race usually comes out on top after two stages so the first two days will be crucial,” said Dolosa, the only Filipino rider who saw action in the Tour of Ireland back in 1996.

LPGMA president Arnel Ty said the participation of the team was endorsed by PhilCycling president and Tagaytay Mayor Abraham Tolentino, whose group has the solid backing of the UCI, the world governing body in the sport.

“We want to help the national team succeed by exposing our riders to several high-caliber races in Southeast Asia,” said Ty.

The two races are part of LPGMA and Liquigaz’s long-term program to send the first Filipino in the Tour de France.