The 4th Tour de Frank

The 2006 professional cycling season started this week Down Under. The Euro pros are far away from their stomping ground since the weather in Europe at this time of year is great for winter sports, not cycling. With Australia on the other side of the globe, it's a perfect place for cyclists to train and race in the middle of the Aussie summer.

February will be the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia. It is the nearest and the cheapest thing next to the Tour de France that is if you want to see real Euro pros in action. For more than ten years, the TdL has been inviting pros and showcasing Asian talents to the world.

But I was expecting the TdL to go belly-up this year since there were reports of financial difficulties and that they had yet to pay the winners of last year's race. In pro bike racing, prize money won are not given right away to the winners. In fact, it'll sometimes take almost a year for the race organizers to send the check to the winners. This is because there are certain protocols to be followed. For example, prizes cannot be given until the winner is declared clean of dope.

Team Pagcor-Casino Filipino is still hoping to get a spot in this year's TdL. That's because they still have to get the necessary papers from Philcycling. Last year, the Victor Espiritu-Rhyan Tanguilig led Philippine pro team was given their papers from Philcycling only at the last minute. Since First Cartel, TdL owners, could not wait for them they gave their spot to another team. Let's just hope that there won't be a repeat of that embarrassing episode.

If things go on as planned, Cebu's VELLUM Cycles will finally be seen in the TdL. Chris Aldeguer, the owner of the bike frame company, told me that VELLUM will be the steed of choice for the Japanese "Daihatsu Bonnechance" team which is bannered by Asia's most aggressive duo of bike riders, the Fukushima brothers. I think that this is an advertising coup by Chris since the Fukushima bros are virtual racing billboards in the peloton!

Cebu's opening race for 2006 is the Tour the Frank which will happen this weekend. A crit on Saturday at the Mandaue rekla will be a followed by a road race to Lugo on Sunday. Organized by the ReCYCLE, this years TdFrank is officially the fourth edition of the race. But Californian Frank Gatdula, a native of Compostela and the patron of the race, have spent the past 7 January's visiting Cebu to help the local cycling community. It's also his way of getting the training miles for the racing season back in the states and get the jump on his rivals. The TdFrank may not have the backing of big commercially sponsors but what I like about it is that it's a cyclists race. Those involved with the event are the cyclists themselves.

Through the years, Frank himself has been giving out financial and logistical support to local riders who dreamed of riding the Tour Pilipinas. Frank came out of the blue one rainy Saturday in 1999 to give a pair of Oakley's to the winner of the Mandaue rekla crit back then. I hope he won't also fade into the woodwork anytime in the next 50 years.