Tougher, bigger 3-day Larrazabal bikefest up

MANILA, Philippines - This year’s Terry Larrazabal Bike Fest (TLBF) promises to be bigger, tougher and more exciting than the previous ones.

“This is the biggest cycling event in the country this year,” Gregorio Larrazabal, the former Comelec chairman, said during yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

The event, now on its ninth year, is expected to draw more than a thousand participants, both local and foreign, from Oct. 24 to 27 in Ormoc City in Leyte.

The TLBF is being held in honor of Terry Larrazabal, a sugar planter who became mayor of Ormoc City after the Edsa Revolution. He passed away in 1999 due to lung cancer.

The bikefest, which is sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, Rudy Project and Air21 Express, offers a total of P700,000 in prizes, raffles and giveaways.

“In this race everybody becomes part of one big family,” said Larrazabal, a lawyer and cycling advocate.

He said highlight of the festival will be the Tour de Larrazabal, a three-day, four-stage race consisting of a time trial (5 km), road race (90 km), mountain stage (140 km) and criterium (2 km loop).

“From the time we started in 2002, the festival has become a benchmark event among cycling enthusiasts and we expect the number of competitors to hit the thousand mark,” Larrazabal added.

In the mountain bike class, there will be a cross-country race, single-speed cross country, 27.5 and 29 km cross country and a downhill competition.

On top of this, there will be competition among BMX riders and folding bike aficionados, all part of a cyclo-cross or cyclo-tourism. A pineapple trail run will also be held, and will take the runners through and across a pineapple plantation.

As a side event, a beer run will be staged where after a short cross-country race, participants must finish a couple of bottles of beer before being declared winners.

Larrazabal said the TLBF is more than just racing.

“The participants are not here just to compete but experience the local flavor,” said Larrazabal, the festival director.

“You go around the city and in and around a pineapple plantation. It highlights the beautiful places in Leyte,” he added.

Also part of the four-day festival are non-competition events such as seminars on riding safety and bike maintenance, and an open-air market for bicycles, equipment, tools and apparel, and nightly parties.

The festival is officially sanctioned by the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines or PhilCycling where the younger Larrazabal is a member of the board.

Except for the Tour de Larrazabal, which is limited to 200 entries, there will be races in the youth (14-17 years), juniors (18-23), seniors (23-29), masters 1 (30-39), masters 2 (40-above) and women’s (open).

The single-speed cross-country as well as the 27.5 and 29er cross-country is open to all as well as the downhill competition (beginners/hardtail, intermediate, executive, pro, open and foreign).

Registration in ongoing and will last until Oct. 15 and may be done through the festival website www.tlbf.ph. No registration will be allowed on the day of the event.

Registration centers include the following bike shops: Bike Town Cyclery, BikeLine, Cycling Zone, Specialized Store, The Brick and VeloCity Bike Shop (Luzon); Hotel Don Felipe, Bikecology Bike Shop, Specialized Store, Dan’s Bike Shop and The Brick (Visayas); and Barney’s Bike (Mindanao).