El Joshua Cariño chases 2nd Le Tour crown with Philippine team

MANILA, Philippines — El Joshua Cariño tries to become the first back-to-back winner of the Le Tour de Filipinas as he joins the national team when the 10th edition of the five-stage, UCI-sanctioned race fires off Friday in Tagaytay City.

Cariño topped the Baguio City final stage last year to become the third Filipino winner of the annual race after Baler Ravina and Mark John Galedo, who won in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

But after anchoring the Philippine Navy Standard Insurance side the last time out, the 26-year-old Cariño will now be donning the national team colors alongside fellow Navymen Jan Paul Morales, Ronald Oranza, Junrey Navarra and Jhon Mark Camingao with the approval of PNSI team owner and PhilCycling stakeholder Judes Echauz.

“We’ll do our best effort to make the country proud,” said Cariño.

However, the other national team members will be racing for their respective mother clubs, including Felipe Marcelo of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines-Air21 (Continental) and last year’s Le Tour Best Young Rider and Cariño’s younger brother, Daniel Ven of Go For Gold (Continental).

Bike X Philippines, meanwhile, is the fourth local squad vying in the event while the Galedo-led Celeste Cycles-Bianchi Phl Pro Racing Team braces for a tough challenge from 11 foreign squads, almost all of which are UCI Continental teams.

The Le Tour kicks off with a short but demanding 129.50-km Stage 1 on an out-and-back course featuring several climbs in Tagaytay City. The tour entourage will then head to Lucena City in Quezon province for Stage Two on June 15, a long 194.90-km race from Pagbilao to Daet in Camarines Norte.

Stage Three will be a 183.70-km ride from Daet to Legazpi City on June 16 while Stage Four will cover 176 kms from Legazpi City via Sorsogon and Gubat and back to the Albay capital on June 17.

The Category 2.2 event, which stakes UCI Olympic qualifying points for the 2020 Tokyo Games, will conclude in Legazpi City, Albay, another out-and-back over 145.80-km race via Donsol in Sorsogon on June 18.