MANILA, Philippines - The first and last time a Visayano won the fabled Marlboro Tour was in 1985 when Rolando Pagnanawon, a tuba gatherer from Talisay, won it as team captain of the Cebu team.
His son, Jay Bop, hopes to be the second to win another major cycling tour – the inaugural LBC Ronda Pilipinas – when he skippers the same provincial team in the 12-stage, 20-day, P7 million event set to kick off Sept. 24 in Cagayan de Oro.
With no major races in the past 10 years to determine who could emerge as the top picks, Pagnanawon, 23, could spring as a big surprise in the event billed as the biggest revival of the Marlboro Tour last held in 1998.
Pagnanawon, based in Manila and now training in Davao in his quest for the top P1M tax-free champion’s purse, is one of 96 riders grouped into 16 teams also vying for the handsome team champion’s prize of P1M in the richest prize ever in Philippine cycling.
North and Central Mindanao is also expected to come out strong with a team built around consistent local race top finisher March Mcquinn Aleonar, who will have three under-23 riders in Engelbert Vega Golez, Leon Jade Lopez and Leysander Rosell and siblings Riemon and Cesar Lapaza.
Davao has a lineup composed of skipper Dexter Nonato, Roderick Donillo, Glen Yap, Danny Tapao, Ronnie Urdaneta and John Albert Gulapa.
The organizing LBC Express, Inc., the leading courier firm, has mapped out a route that will take the riders, culled from regional eliminations, on a journey over varying terrains through key cities in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon.
Serving as highlight of the LBC Ronda Pilpinas is the back-breaking 188km Baguio-to-Baguio stage, the ultimate test of skill and endurance, which could be the turning point in the search for this year’s first millionaire cyclist.
The other teams are East Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Central and West Pangasinan, Tarlac, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Sur, NCR, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Negros, commercial teams American Vinyl and 7-11 and the national amateur team.