Le Tour de Filipinas rolls off May 20
ATOTAL of 16 teams including 10 foreign squads will test their mettle in the prestigious Le Tour de Filipinas (LTDF) scheduled on May 20 to 23.
Last year’s runner- up Daniel Whitehouse of Interpro Cycling Academy will be back in the ninth edition of the LTDF, which will start in Quezon City and wraps up in Baguio City.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) rated the LTDF as a category 2.2 event.
“We want to see a Philippine cyclist compete in the Olympics that’s why our local players can earn points when they compete in this UCI-sanctioned tournament. We are optimistic that we have good chances of getting there,” said LTDF chairman Donna May Lina in a news conference at the Palacio de Maynila on Thursday.
This year’s edition was originally scheduled in February but was postponed because of Mayon Volcano’s eruption.
The course has also been modified. The race will now traverse through Central and Northern Luzon instead of the original plan to cruise through the Bicol Region.
The 151.32 kilometers Stage One of the four- day race will start at Quezon City going to Palayan City and Nueva Ecija.
The 157.90 km Stage Two goes through Cabanatuan City and Bayombong in Nueva Ecija then ends in Nueva Vizcaya.
The penultimate 174.50 km Stage Three will roll off from Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya to Dagupan City, Pangasinan.
The 154.65 km Stage Four of the race will cover Lingayen, Pangasinan Baguio City and Benguet.
Former champion Filipino Mark Galedo of 7-Eleven Road Bike Philippines is keen to end the country’s three-year drought in the race.
“I am hoping that we’ll have a
team. Whoever gets a good ride each day will get our support all the way
old national team member.
Besides Galedo, other Filipino top guns Marcelo Felipe, Rustom Lim, and George Oconer will also see action in the LTDF presented by Air21, co-presented by Cignal, and organized by UBE Media.