Ronda targets young riders

Next year’s LBC Ronda Pilipinas has been designed to attract more young riders who could someday don the national colors.

Ronda sports development head Moe Chulani said teams in the annual multistage cycling classic are required to enlist at least one rider aged 17 or 18 and a pair of cyclists belonging to the 19 to 22 age bracket in their six-man rosters.

Chulani added these under-23 riders will join hands with three veteran cyclists in the team for the 2015 Ronda, which is set to unveil a new format by holding one leg each in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon.

Tentatively set January or February, the Mindanao and Visayas stages will have 10 to 12 teams exclusive for Filipino riders.

The top half of the teams after Mindanao (four stages) and Visayas (four laps) will advance to the Luzon leg (six stages) where they will race for supremacy against six foreign clubs for the Ronda International crown.

“The goal of LBC Ronda Pilipinas is to help cycling’s grassroots development program because we know there are many untapped talents out there,” said Chulani.