THE Tagaytay City climb and the winding roads to Donsol in Sorsogon are bound to test how well the 75 cyclists will give riders a tough in Le Tour de Filipinas’ 10th edition.
Stage One of the Le Tour de Filipinas on June 14 starts and ends in Tagaytay City with the descent from the Praying Hands monument on Aguinaldo Highway and the climb in Barangay Sampaloc in Talisay providing the challenge.
The stage is short at 129.50 kms but Paquito Rivas, the tour’s race manager and known as the Eagle of the Mountain for his climbing skills, said the kick off would sap the most out of the cyclists.
“It may be short but the riders have to ride a tactical race,” said Rivas, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philippine Sportswriters Association.
There are five stages this time in the International Cycling Union Category 2.2 event as it celebrates a decade of racing.
Stage Five on June 18 is as crucial as the first in Tagaytay.
Covering 145.80 kms, the riders will be flagged off from Legaspi City and will pass through Donsol, a route at Luzon’s southern tip that could be brutal.
“The climbs may not be that tough in gradient but in local parlance, they are called ‘makunat,’ meaning the rider will have to suffer,” Rivas said.
Sandwiched by the two technical stages are long rides over the flat and well-paved Maharlika Highway that dissects the Bicol Region where sprinters could frolic on.
Stage Two on June 15 is a 194.90-km ride from Pagbilao in Quezon Province to Daet in Camarines, Norte, Stage Three on June 16 will be 183.70 kms from Daet to Legaspi City and Stage Four will cover 176.00 kms from Legaspi City via Sorsogon and Gubat and back to the Albay capital.
Fifteen teams — five local and 10 international — composed of 75 riders are vying in the race.
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