Ravina seeks 2nd Tour title

AFTER competing in the local Tour twice in nine months, Baler Ravina is looking forward to repeating as champion in the short but foreign-flavored 2013 Le Tour de Filipinas set April 13 to 16.

The tenacious climber from Asingan, Pangasinan, made history in last year’s Le Tour by becoming the second Filipino in 14 years to win an International Cycling Union (UCI) race since Warren Davadilla did the trick in the 1998 Marlboro Centennial Tour.

“I will do my best to defend my crown,” said the soft-spoken Ravina, who topped the 2012 Le Tour finale that snaked through the dreaded Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges and is currently ranked 52nd in the Asian circuit.

“I’ve waited and prepared a year for this (Le Tour) and I want to become back-to-back champion,” added Ravina.