Le Tour blasts off June 14

El Joshua Cariño must conquer the punishing terrain that Tagaytay City and the Bicol region will offer if he wants to keep his Le Tour de Filipinas title.

Cariño, just the third Filipino to win the category 2.2 event, stands out as one of the favorites in the 10th edition of five-stage bikathon, and he will come into the race starting June 14 wearing the colors of the national team.

Fellow veterans Jan Paul Morales, Ronald Oranza, Junrey Navarra and Jhon Mark Camingao will also be riding for the national squad after Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance owner Ernesto Echauz agreed to have the team race for the country.

The collaboration has been designed as part of the riders’ buildup for the 30th Southeast Asian Games in December.

The first lap will be a short but demanding 129.50-kilometer course marked by seven climbs in Tagaytay City.

The next challenge for the 11 foreign teams and four local clubs is the long ride from Pagbilao, Quezon to Daet in Camarines Norte.

On June 16, the trip from Daet to Legazpi City will cover 183.70 km followed by the fourth stage from Legaspi via Sorsogon and Gubat and back to the Albay capital (176 km).

The fifth and final stage is again an out-and-back course from Legazpi City, but this time via Donsol in Sorsogon for a total of 145.80 km.