THE PHILIPPINE campaign in the sixth edition of the Le Tour de Filipinas will be spearheaded by the tried and tested Mark Lexer Galedo.
A three-time Tour champion, Galedo is the top Filipino in the International Cycling Union Asia Tour rankings at No. 67.
Last year’s Le Tour overall winner is also using the four-day race on Feb. 1 to 4 as part of his buildup for the individual road race title he won in the 2013 Burma (Myanmar) Southeast Asian Games.
But the 29-year-old won’t be alone in his drive for glory in the Tour presented by Air21 and co-presented by the MVP Sports Foundation and Smart.
Providing support are Ronald Lomotos (ranked No. 267), George Oconer (161), Jun Rey Navarra and Incheon Asian Games campaigner Ronald Oranza (255), all of them below 23 years old.
“These young riders are the future of Philippine cycling,’’ said PhilCycling president and Cavite representative Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
Stage 1 is a 126-kilometer ride on the hilly stretches of Bataan, beginning and ending in Balanga. It will be followed by two stages going to Iba, Zambales and Lingayen, Pangasinan. June Navarro