All systems go for Ronda Pilipinas

DUMAGUETE CITY--Dutch Martin Bruin and four foreign officials fly here Monday, joining the rest of the 150 officials, staff members, marshalls and security personnel comprising the whole team running Ronda Pilipinas 2015 presented by LBC set to roll with a three-stage Visayas qualifying leg on Wednesday in this Negros Oriental capital.

Bruin, a Tour de France veteran who was one of the foreign officials tapped by Ronda organizers in the first four stagings, are scheduled to arrive early Monday along with fellow commisaires Micky Rob, Eduard Park, Ji Jin Qiu and Jamal Mahmood.

"Our foreign officials led by our chief president commissaire Martin Bruin will join us tomorrow (Monday)," said Ronda executive director Moe Chulani, who arrived with the first batch of officials yesterday along with race director Ric Rodriguez and administration director Jack Yabut.

The second batch, a bigger one, checked in in the afternoon via ferry.

It included Jing Hervas and his 42 motorcycle-riding marshalls and several policemen and their two police mobile units, and the rest of the 150-man staff and about 40 vehicles like cars, vans and red LBC trucks.

By today, everybody will be all accounted for.

"We're just waiting for the riders to register and we will be all accounted for," said Ronda race director Ric Rodriguez, who expects over a 100 participants, most of which he expects to come Visayas and Mindanao.

For Mindanao riders, Yabut said they will ferry them for free from Dipolog on Feb. 10.

"We will ferry those who are joining from Mindanao along with their bikes from Dipolog to Dumaguete for free," said Yabut. "There will be a 4 a.m., 5 a.m. and sometimes 10 a.m.trip and a Ronda Pilipinas and LBC representative will be there to assist them."

Upon arrival, Yabut said riders could go straight to Bethel Guesthouse Hotel along the baywalk in Rizal Avenue, or just near the Dumaguete port, where the registration and payment will be done.

The three-stage Visayas Leg, which stakes 54 slots (50 elite and four juniors) will start on Feb. 11 with a 172.7-kilometer Dumaguete-Sipalay Stage One followed by the 157.8-km Bacolod-Bacolod Stage Two the next day and 120-km Bacolod-Cadiz Stage Three on Friday.

Ronda will then move up North for the two-stage Luzon qualifiers with a 138.9-km Tarlac-Tarlac Stage One on Feb. 16 and a 102.5-km Antipolo-Antipolo Stage Two on Feb. 17 with 34 slots (30 elite, four juniors) to be up for grabs.

The National leg stages are as follows: 60-km Paseo Greenfield Stage One criterium and 120.5-km Calamba-Atimonan Stage Two on Feb. 22, 171.1-km Lucena-Antipolo Stage Three on Feb. 23, 199-km Malolos-Tarlac Stage Four on Feb. 24, 151.8-km Tarlac-Dagupan Stage Five on Feb. 25, 152.5-km Dagupan-Baguio Stage Six on Feb. 26 and 8.8-km Stage Seven Individual Time Trial and 90-km criterium on Feb. 27 both in mountaintop Baguio.

The 88 qualifiers will earn the right to compete in the Championship round where last year's winner Reimon Lapaza of Butuan, the nine-man national team spearheaded by Mark Galedo and a composite European team await.

The race is being supported by major sponsors the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation, Petron and Mitsubishi and minor sponors Cannondale, Standard Insurance, Tech1 Corp., Maynilad and NLEX and sanctioned by PhilCycling under Cavite Congressman Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino with TV5 and Sports Radio as media partners.

Interested parties may get their registration form online at Ronda Pilipinas' official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/RondaPilipinas, and Twitter account, @rondapilipinas, or aspirants may register a day or two hours before Qualifying Race Day for just P1,000 per entry per stage.