The 2011 Tour ni Frank

CEBU, Philippines - It’s a go! The 10th edition of the Tour ni Frank, currently Cebu’s longest running cycling event, will be held this weekend, January 8th and 9th. There will be two stages, the first being a criterium at the Mandaue Reclamation Area and on the second day, a road race from Toledo to Cebu via the Trans-Central Highway.

Unfortunately, the man started this whole thing and whose name the race is now called, will not be around. Frank Gatdula, a native of Compostela and now residing in Sacramento, California, still is rehabbing an injury he sustained while he was out riding his bike middle of last year. Fortunately, Architect Miguel Flores, one of the owners of VELLUM CYCLES, volunteered to organize the event.

Lots of teams and riders from Iligan, Singapore, Leyte, Bohol, Hong Kong, Japan and Luzon will be coming for the biggest cycling event in Cebu this year. Veteran RP executive teams based in Manila like FRANZIA, MOSSIMO, PLDT- to name a few, will also be fielding their respective teams.Takeya Kenji, Olympian and 5-time All-Japan XC MTB champion, RP NATIONAL TEAM MTBiker Nino Surban, RP standout Lloyd Lucien Reynante and 2010 Tour of Matabungkay 2nd overall Michelle Lim will also be in attendance.

The signature event of the Tour ni Frank for the last three years is the Trans-Central Highway, which for me is the toughest route that I’ve ever ridden. It’s a beast of a route. A lot of cyclists love to do a recon training ride before an event but for me, there is no point in doing a recon ride over the Trans-central Highway since it only reminds me of how a beast of a climb this mountain pass can be during race day.

This reminds me of ex-pro Theo de Rooj who made a comment about the toughest one-day race in the world, Paris-Roubaix. De Rooj said, “(Paris-Roubaix) is s—t!” but when asked if he’d ride it again, he said, “Sure, it’s the most beautiful race in the world!”

This year’s edition is sponsored by OZRacing, KIA Motors, POCARI Sweat, Signa Modena, TIGER Energy Biscuits, YKK/Cyclelogic, Blood Red, Timex, CamelbakUSA, T.W.O. Sandals, HABAGAT, Creative Sounds, LUZVIMIN Racing Team, VELLUM, Nagashima, RIPSTUFF OUTDOOR, 1020 Avenue Catering Services and Alpine Electrical Supply.

Lance Armstrong’s last race…as a professional bike racer

If you think you’ve seen the last of Lance Armstrong in the 2010 Tour de France, think again! Just like most sports superstars who can’t handle the big “R”, as in retirement, LA’s final race will be on January 16-23 in Australia in an event called the “Santos Tour Down Under”.

If you recall, the TdU was one of the first races that LA did when he unretired back in 2009, 4 years after he won his 7th Tour de France. This time though, I think it’s not an itch he wants to scratch but more of a follow-up of the commitments he made in the fight against cancer. It was at this event that he launched the global LIVESTRONG campaign, an event that he used to raise money for cancer research.

Except for occasional Tweets, LA has generally been off the radar since the Tour de France as the investigation against organized doping against his former team, US POSTAL is still ongoing.

Finally, I’d like to thank all those who have made the annual CC Christmas party a smashing success!

RESULTS FROM THE 2010.12.31 CRIT:

CAT A/B 1st- Jaybop Pagnanawon, 2nd- Nino Surban, 3rd- Asay Navarro, 4th- Nilo Barbalose, 5th- Junvie Pagnanawon

CAT C: 1ST - Tony Codina, 2nd - Albert Paraiso, 3rd- Tata Ty, 4th - Ryan Patalinghug, 5th - Heide Esmalin (FREEMAN)