FILE PHOTO – Cyclist Marella Vania Salamat RAFFY LERMA
The stars of Philippine cycling descended in Subic as they vie in the PhilCycling National Championships for Road which fires off Friday with the massed start race on an out-and-back course in Subic and Bataan.
Led by Marella Vania Salamat, Marc Galedo and the ageless Alfie Catalan—all former Southeast Asian Games gold medalists—the races in the men and women elite, under-23 and men junior will flag off at 9 a.m. from the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.
The men’s race will cover 138.27 km marked by a 7-km climb atop the Dambana Ng Kagitingan giant cross on Mount Samat.
The women’s race will cover 96.55 km.
“We are expecting a tough race considering that the courses for both events are technical,” race director Ian Alacar said.
The races highlight the PRU Ride PH 2018, a cycling festival staged annually by Pru Life UK.
Pru Life UK senior vice president and chief marketing officer Allan Tumbaga led the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at the SBECC with Filipino-American female cyclist Coryn Rivera gracing the occasion.