DEFENDING champion Mark John Lexer Galedo and the entire national cycling team are gearing up for the 2015 Le Tour de Filipinas as part of their preparations for two major international races.
The Nationals, an assembly of the youngest and finest riders in the land, will vie in the Asian Cycling Championships in Thailand later this month and the Singapore Southeast Asian Games in June.
“It is always very inspiring for our cyclists to win an international race on home soil and a victory could translate into a heightened enthusiasm in cycling,” said Donna Lina-Flavier, president of Le Tour de Filipinas organizer Ube Media.
Snaking through Central and Northern Luzon, the four-day race begins this Sunday in an out-and-back course in Balanga, Bataan.
PhilCycling, headed by Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, has endevoured to equip the national cyclists with the means to win the country’s only UCI Asia Tour road race presented by Air21 and co-presented by the MVP Sports Foundation and Smart.
“But ranged against 12 continental teams and two national teams from countries (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) with winning traditions, the Filipinos would be expecting a grind,” said Flavier.
Apart from Galedo, the reigning time trial king of the SEA Games, the team is made up of Ronald Lomotos (20), Ronald Oranza (22), George Oconer (22), and Jun Rey Navarra (22). June Navarro