Foreign Riders Joining Le Tour de Filipinas

MANILA, Philippines—Cycling clubs from Europe, Asia and Australia have shown interest in joining the four-stage 2010 Le Tour de Filipinas (LTDF) on April 17 to 20.
 
Race organizer Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc. (Dos-1)-Padyak Pinoy said the foreign entries will come from Europe’s Bordeaux (France), Power Move (Switzerland), AC Spart Pharma (Czech Republic), Arbo KTM Junkers (Germany) and CTK (Switzerland).
 
Also invited to see action were riders from Australia’s Prime State and Medscheme/CPI of South Africa.
 
The Tour kicks off with a 145-kilometer lung-buster in Tagaytay City. Stage 2 will be a 60-km leg ending at Roxas Boulevard, followed by a 135-km Quezon City-Subic stage.
 
Capping the four-day event is a 140-km Subic to Subic run.
 
Dos-1 president and Padyak Pinoy chairman Edgardo Cayton said powerhouse teams from Asia will also see action in the race where the country’s top riders will be spread out in 10 teams.
 
Cayton said the Asian challenge will be bannered by Vali Asr Kerman of Iran, Shimano of Japan, Giant Asia Racing Team of Chinese Taipei, OCBC of Singapore and Collosi of Hong Kong.
 
Presented by Tanduay with Smart Communications Inc. and Air21 as principal backers, the LTDF is a part of the Asia Tour calendar of the sport’s world governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
 
The UCI granted Dos-1/Padyak Pinoy the license to stage the international race, which is the first for the country since the foreign-flavored Marlboro Tour in 1999.
 
“This only goes to show that the Philippines offers an attraction in the eyes of the world cycling community,” said Air21 chair and former PhilCycling president Bert Lina.
 
“And this would give the Filipino cyclists the chance to compete in an international arena in their own country.”
 
 
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