LARGA Pilipinas founder and operations director Snow Badua cupped both his hands in saying a prayer that he and the rest of the organizers hope to be answered by the cycling gods.
Set for a bigger and challenging comeback after being dormant for seven years, Larga is set to hold a six-stage, 809-kilometer race from Aug. 2 to 7 dubbed “The race to the Northern Alps.”
But unlike most cycling extravaganzas held during the sizzling summer, this year’s Larga spectacle will pose a different and painstaking task for the riders—shine amid the likely rainy and cold weather.
“Part ng challenge iyong weather condition. Part din ng hazard iyong mga condition sa kalsada na minsan ay may ulan, minsan wala. Pero we hope na bigyan tayo ng cycling gods ng magandang panahon sa August,” Larga Pilipinas chairman Atty. Froi Dayco said yesterday during the race’s launch at the Red Dynasty Seafood and Hotpot Restaurant inside the Winford Hotel and Casino in Manila.
“Whatever it is, ready po iyong riders natin, iyong mga cyclists natin, maski na anong condition, sanay sila. It will add to the challenge and to the competition dahil magkakaroon ng ibang factor kung saka-sakali.
“August, transition iyan ng weather, tignan natin at we pray to the cycling gods na bigyan tayo ng magandang panahon,” he added.
Badua agreed with Dayco.
“Since sinimulan naming planuhin itong Larga Pilipinas, nananalangin na po kami agad kasi very critical po iyong August. Ito iyong mga bagyo natin ay pumapasok sa bansa pero ang maganda po, sana po, Panginoon, ay magtuloy-tuloy kasi po ngayon pa lang bumubuhos na iyong ulan,” Badua said. “So by that time, hopefully, awa ng Diyos, gaya po ng ginawa namin noong 2018 nagdasal po kami ng todo, mas matindi iyon kasi September and October po iyon, iyon na po talaga iyong mga bagyo, so hopefully po, maubos na po iyong mga ulan ngayon.”
Larga will pedal off in the cycling hotbed in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija and will end in the City Pines in Baguio.
Organizers expect to equal, if not surpass, the record 10,000 riders in the EDSA and Marikina edition of the race in 2018.
“We call this a people’s race and a race for all so we’re expecting a bigger turnout than the last,” Badua said of the keenly awaited event expected to draw 10 pro teams, including Go for Gold, Standard Insurance-Navy, Excellent Noodles, D-Reyna Orion Cement and newly crowned Tour of Luzon team champion MPTC Drivehub.
Larga is backed by Viva Premier Gaming, 888 Horsemen Group Inc., Red Dynasty Seafood and Hotpot Restaurant, Phenom Sportswear, Starhorse Shipping Lines, Chickyfam, Midas Smart Resources Corp., PCSO Scratch it, Go for Gold, Surecom Wireless Communication and Colbi’s Best and sanctioned by PhilCycling.
PhilCycling commissaire Sunshine Joy Vallejos said safety measures will be observed if and when typhoons wreak havoc on the race.
“Mayroon namang protocol, extreme weather protocol ang UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) na sinusunod ng lahat ng mga opisyal in a race so we will decide if we need to push, continue the race or stop,” Vallejos said. “Then depende na lang sa panel kung ano iyong magiging resulta if we were able to obtain a significant result doon sa stage na iyon then we will see what would happen.
“But, definitely there’s an extreme weather protocol na sinusunod ng lahat ng officials in cycling.”
The first two salvos will feature relatively flat roads— the 197-km Cabanatuan City to Cabanatuan City opening leg and the 146-km Cabanatuan City to Mangaldan, Pangasinan Stage 2.
Then the test of stamina, power, and grit unfolds—the 146-km Mangaldan-Bayombong Stage 3, 95.2-km Bayombong-Banaue Stage 4, 83.1-km Banague-Sagada Stage 5 and finally, the queen 142-km Sagada-Baguio Stage 6.
