4:32 PM
MIS Capitol Bataan
MANILA, Philippines – The second edition of the Le Tour De Filipinas, the latest offshoot of the famed Tour of Luzon, hits the road on April 16 to April 19 with the country’s premier riders, again testing their mettle against experienced foreign bets in the UCI-sanctioned road race offering a cash pot of P1.5 million.
Irish rider David McCann, riding for the Taiwan-based Giant Kenda team, will return to defend the overall individual title, leading a sterling cast that includes veteran international riders from South Africa, Singapore, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Iran, Japan and Malaysia.
Riders from Azad University in Iran, considered the toughest in Asia at the moment, are tipped to give McCann a tough challenge in his title-retention bid.
Singapore’s OCBC, Mongolia’s Snow Leopard, the Netherlands’ CCN Sportwear Colossi, Japan’s Bridgestone-Anchor and Malaysia’s Perengganu and Le Tua are the other international teams.
Lucien Lloyd Reynante, who placed second behind McCann last year, banners the local bets that include former tour champions Joel Calderon, Arnel Quirimit and Santi Barnachea.
Reynante rides for the 7-Eleven team, Calderon for Road Bike Philippines, Quirimit for Air21 and Barnachea for Wow Magic Sing.
Each team is allowed five cyclists and three support personnel.
Smart, American Vinyl/LPGMA and Camarines Sur are the other local teams that have confirmed participation in the four-day race.
The race will start from the Roxas Boulevard criterium race on April 16 followed by the Balanga, Bataan to Iba, Zambales Stage Two, the Iba to Lingayen, Pangasinan Stage Three, then the Lingayen to Baguio Final Stage.
The entourage will be ferried from Manila to Orion, Bataan for the second stage.
The riders will run a total distance of 506.90 kilometers in the event, which adopts the theme “Save the Seas” under efforts to promote environment protection.
- By Nelson Beltran
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