SOUTHEAST Asian Games medalist Ronald Oranza and Jan Paul Morales are two of 10 members of the PhilCycling men’s national team seeing action with different teams in the Tour of Luzon: Great Revival that starts this Thursday in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
Oranza, double bronze medalist at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games, and Morales lead the International Cycling Union (UCI) continental team along with veteran Junrey Navarra in the eight-stage race presented by the MVP Group’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and organized by DuckWorld PH.
Reigning national road champion Marcelo Felipe and Nichol Pareja are racing for another continental team, Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team, as well as Ruzzel Agapito for 7-Eleven Click Roadbike Philippines.
Steven Tablizo and Andrei Deudor lead the Philippines Under-23 Tom N Toms squad, with Joshua Pacsual and Julius Tudtud donning the jerseys of Excellent Noodles and DReyna Orion Cement squads.
The Tour of Luzon kicks off with the opening ceremony at the quadrangle in front of the world heritage site San Agustin (Paoay) Church, with Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla expected to grace the event along with Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the sanctioning PhilCycling.
Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Manotoc and Paoay Mayor Shiella Galano will welcome the 119 athletes from the 17 participating teams in the opening ceremony, where MPTC Chief Regulatory Officer Arrey Perez will deliver the opening remarks. DuckWorld chairman Patrick “Pató” Gregorio will declare the race open by ringing a bell symbolic of cycling’s lap bell omnipresent in criterium and track races.
The individual overall winner will bring home P500,000 and the overall team champion will bank P1 million in the Tour that also includes the Go For Gold Philippines, Dandex T-Prime Cycling Team, Exodus Army, MPT Drive Hub Cycling Team, 1 Team Visayas, One Cycling Mindanao and Team Pangasinan.
The CCN Factory HK from Hong Kong was the first team to arrive last Monday via the Clark International Airport, with the Malaysia Pro Cycling, Bryton Racing Team from Taiwan and Gapyeong Cycling Team from South Korea—which will land in Laoag—expected Tuesday.
The 1,074.90-kilometer Tour of Luzon starts with the 190.70-km Paoay-Paoay Stage 1, 68.39-km Paoay-Vigan team time trial Stage 2, 130.33-km Vigan-San Juan Stage 3, 162.97-km Agoo-Clark Stage 4, 166.65 Clark-Clark (via New Clark City) Stage 5, 168.19 Clark-Lingayen Stage 6, 15.14-km individual time trial Labrador-Lingayen Stage 7 and finally the queen Stage 8, a 172.53-km from Lingayen to the Scout Hill finish inside Camp John Hay in Baguio City.
