By Pigeon Lobien
The boys of summer will start the race in Laoag City, then go down as far as the Clark then to Lingayen, Pangasinan before the killer Baguio City last lap and will end at the Camp John Hay, in the nine leg, 1,030 kilometer Tour of Luzon makes its return on April 24 and ends on May 1.
The MVP led group launched, one of the country’s most beloved sporting events, last March 7 at the Meralco in Manila, said Gregorio.
The nine leg spectacle is expected to start in New Clark City en route to Baguio where it will culminate at Camp John Hay, announced Gregorio during a press conference at the John Hay Hotel Saturday.
The Tour will be a joint project of the MVP Group of Companies and the Bases Conversion Development Authority, thus the start and finish. Expectedly, a king of the mountain will be named anew as well as sprint king.
Former University of the Philippines basketball coach Allan Gregorio will be its race director as a La Union to Baguio leg is expected to be the premier leg.
The Le Tour de Pilipinas and Ronda Pilipinas are two of the major cycling events after the Tour of Philippines presented by Marlboro.
The Tour is organized by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and DuckWorld PH of the MVP Group. It is expected to be a battle for pride ,honor and title will be on the 8th and final stage with mountain specialists have great advantage .
The final stage starts in the coastal town of Lingayen, Pangasinan en route to the back-breaking climb to the Summer Capital- with elevation of 5,050 feet above sea level. Critical on the final stage, a 25-km punishing yet scenic Kennon Road to the finish line at the cool and lush greenery Scout Hill area in Camp John Hay (CJH).
The winning team will walk home with the PhP1 million cash prize plus a perpetual trophy, and P500k for the individual titlist.
The race, designed by PhilCycling , expects some 20 teams of about 200 riders will cover more than one thousand kilometers and will pass through seven provinces.
The race was officially announced during the recent press conference attended by the major organizers of the race including Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling president Abraham Tolentino, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation Regulatory Officer Arrey Perez, Chairman and CEO of DuckWorld PH Patrick Gregorio, and Race Commissaire for Tour of Luzon Jun Lomibao.
Race details April 24- Stage 1, Laoag City (Ilocos Norte), a 170-km out-and-back route via Pagudpud; April 25 -Stage 2, Laoag City, Laoag City to Vigan City, a 80-km Team Time Trial (TTT); April 26 -Stage 3, a 150-km criterium race from Vigan City to Agoo, La Union; April 27-Stage 4 , a 150-km race from Agoo to Clark, Pampanga. Riders will stay in Clark for two days for Stage 5 – a Clark-to-Clark 120-km road race on April 28 where cyclists will make the turn at New Clark City via SCTEX – and Stage 6.
On April 29 -Stage 7, a 150-km road race from Clark to Lingayen on April 29 ; April 30 -Stage 8 will be a 30-km Individual Time Trial (ITT) in Lingayen City.
The ‘Tour’ ends with a 180-km road race from Lingayen to Baguio City’s Camp John Hay via Kennon Road where the champions will be declared.
Topping the list of participating teams are—Navy-Standard Insurance PH, 7-Eleven Roadbike PH, Dandex Multi-Sports Go-For-Gold, Victoria Cycling Team, Excellent Noodles, D’Reyna, MPT Drivehub, Phil. Army, and also some provincial teams.
ASEAN riders from Indonesia, Vietnam ,Thailand and Singapore are also listed. For the record, ‘Tour of Luzon’ traces its history back in 1955 with the Manila to Vigan race.
Later, recognized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) , the world governing body of cycling. Cyclists like Jose Sumalde, Cornelio Padilla and Domingo Quilban, among others became hometown and national figures.
Years later became Marlboro Tour, with some editions recognized by UCI. Among the revered riders are Manuel Reynante, Paquito Rivas, Rolando Pagnanawon, among others ,who emerged champions and sustained the Tour’s gem, conquering dust and rugged roads.
For this 2025 summer on the wheels, thousands of spectators-young and old, once again brave the soaring summer heat – some will even climb trees to watch and witness their local heroes pedal for flag, country and the ultimate victory.
