Seasoned riders brace for tougher Le Tour

MANILA, Philippines - The Le Tour de Filipinas fires off April 14 in Cagayan with tough, demanding routes lined up for foreign and local riders fighting it out for top honors in the only bike tour in the country recognized and sanctioned by the Union International Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

Adhering to the directives of no less than Air21 chairman Bert Lina, officials of the annual event opted to hold the four-day event ending April 17 in strategic places considered novel to both foreign and local riders.

Stage 1 will be flagged off in Sta. Ana, Cagayan to Tuguegarao City with Stage 2 set from Tuguegarao City to Cauayan City in Isabela. Stage 3 starts in Cauayan City to Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, before the tour goes to Bayombong to Baguio for its fourth and final stage.

In all, the race has a total distance of 502 kms., with the opening stage covering the longest distance of 155.75 kms.

“Actually, it was the brainchild of Mr. (Bert) Lina to try the different routes that haven’t been used in the tour,” said Air21 president Jerry Jara in yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Ave.

“Mr. Lina encouraged us to look for new routes for this year’s Le Tour de Filipinas,” he added. “For me, this would be the most challenging race we will have in the last three years of the meet.”

Gary Cayton, head of the organizing Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc., said the race is a bit short, but will definitely test the endurance and capacity of the 15 to 21 teams expected to see action.

“It’s actually not about the distance, it’s about the capacity of the riders to compete. Imagine the riders racing at the hottest time of the year which is summer, at the hottest place in the Philippines,” said Cayton, referring to Tuguegarao City, the capital of Cagayan, which held the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country at 42 degrees Celsius in the 1950s.

Jara said at least nine foreign countries will be represented in the third edition of the summer bikefest won by Rahim Emami of Iran last year.   

Among the foreign teams set to compete are Indonesia, Netherlands, Chinese-Taipei, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Uzbekistan.