Short but tough Le Tour de Filipinas slated

Veteran Tour campaigner Santy Barnachea and Irish Valenzuela will lead 30 local riders who will ride against 85 foreign rivals in third Le Tour de Filipinas set April 14-17.

The $16,540 Tour will make stops at some of the country’s top tourist destinations in Sta. Ana and Tuguegarao in Cagayan and in Nueva Ecija before winding up at the famed Summer Capital of Baguio City.

“I am happy to announce that the Le Tour de Filipinas is still sanctioned by the UCI. We made it possible that we are listed in the calendar of UCI activities this year when we went to Malaysia,” said PhilCyling (Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino during yesterday’s press launch at Centennial Ballroom at the Manila Hotel.

Tolentino attended the UCI meeting in Kuala Lumpur last Feb. 14 to 18 where the world body also gave its blessings to the 23rd Asian Cycling Championships, first Asian Under-23, and 19th Asian juniors which will be held in the next few months around the region.

The Tour route will pass by the eastern side of Luzon instead of the the traditional western ports in Pangasinan and La Union. It will also feature a never-before-tried access to Region 2 covering 502 kilometers of hilly country roads.

Prizes will be given to the Best Young Rider, King of the Mountain, Best in Sprint and for the top five local teams.

Iran will still be the team to beat but local teams vow to put up a stiffer challenge this time. Among the tough local squads are last year’s third placer Smart, Go21, LPGA/American Vinyl, Mail and More, Kia and Jinbei.

Foreign teams include CCN and RTS/Giant Kenda from Chinese Taipei, Terengganu of Malaysia, OCBC of Singapore, Pure Black of New Zealand, Suren of Uzbekistan, Plan B of Australia, Asian Racing Team of Japan, Colossi Miche of Indonesia and Dutch Global of Netherlands.