Le tour cycling snarls traffic, cancels stage 1

PALAYAN City, Nueva Ecija —Mount Arayat’s serenity was a sight to behold, but not the bedlam that took place at its foot as the chaotic flow of traffic forced the cancellation of Sunday’s Stage 1 of the 9th Le Tour de Filipinas.

The sheer number of vehicles that cramped the two-lane road in Arayat, Pampanga, that trickled all the way to Cabiao town in this province was the last of five restarts that forced chief commissaire Louise Jones of Australia to call off the opening stage in Plazang Luma—just halfway through the 157.15-kilometer first stage.

“The race was stopped for one reason: Unmanageable traffic, which was rather surprising on a Sunday morning,” said commissaire 3 Lorenzo Lomibao Jr.

All riders will start from scratch in Stage 2 Monday where the 80 bronze-skinned warriors belonging to 16 teams go through a 157.90-km grind from Cabanatuan City in this province to Bayombong in Nueva Vizcaya via Dalton Pass.

Cris Joven of Bike Extreme Philippines, Juan Carlos Barrios of Team CCN, and Jang Jiung of Korail Cycling Team were working on building a formidable lead only to be forced to a grinding halt.