Le Tour kicks off in Ilocos Norte

BANGUI, Philippines — A total of 15 teams, including 10 foreign squads will be taking on the rugged terrains of Northern Luzon as the fourth edition of Le Tour De Filipinas kicks off tomorrow in a race that will span Northern Luzon provinces from here in Ilocos Norte to Baguio City in Benguet.

The likes of veterans Baler Ravina, Santy Barnachea, and Irish Valenzuela will be leading the local bets as they will go head-to-head with foreign teams from Mongolia, Ireland, Singapore, Iran, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and South Korea in a 616-kilometer-race through five provinces in northern Philippines.

Five teams will be making up the home bets, namely, 7-Eleven Roadbike, LBC-MVPSF Cycling Pilipinas, Philippine Team Standard Insurance, Philippine Navy Standard Insurance, and American Vinyl.

The race will be divided into four stages starting from Bangui town to Aparri, Cagayan in the mostly sea-scape first stage starting tomorrow.

Toughest stage: Swerving track from Vizcaya to Baguio

The racers will then be taking on the longest leg of the tourney which spans the 196-kilometer road between Aparri and Cauayan City in Isabela. The third stage is said to separate the boys from the men in the 104-kilometer trek from Cauayan to Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

Unarguably, the toughest part will be Stage 4 — a 132.7 swerving track from Bayombong through the Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges to Baguio City.

With a total prize money of almost P750,000, the 4th Le Tour will be looking to raise the Philippines’ Asian Ranking further. The country currently sits at fourth place behind Japan, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

The road race is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Phlippines and Asian Cycling Federation and organized by Direct Outsource Solutions supported by Air21, San Miguel Corporation and Smart Telecommunications. – Rappler.com