The 11th Le Tour de Filipinas could head down south, and could go as far as the Southern Leyte area.
Organizers are now making plans to go into the Visayas region following the successful staging of the 10th edition of the five-day bikefest.
“The 10th edition of the race went so smoothly. With better technical training, we’ll see if we can stretch it again,” said LTDF organizing committee chairman Donna May Lina.
Dutch rider Jeroen Meijers took the overall classification honors on the final day of Le Tour de Filipinas 2019 when it ended in Legazpi City.
Singaporean Choon Huat Goh remained 45 seconds behind Meijers after five stages, and after Meijers logged a total time of 20 hours, 38 minutes and seven seconds.
Australian Angus Lyons was third, followed in fourth by Team 711’s Daniel Habtemichael.
Team 7-Eleven rider Marcelo Felipe’s 26th place finish on the final day.
And this denied him a chance to be in the top 10 of the overall classification, and a chance to get some Olympic qualification points.
But Felipe still claimed the overall best Filipino rider awards, beating Celeste Cycles Mark Galedo by 2 minutes and 34 seconds.
Team Ukyo claimed the overall classification crown, with Taiyuan and PGN in second and third.
Lina said they are looking to a better showing from Filipino riders next year.
“This is like the Miss Universe of cycling. Filipino riders should take advantage of their home court advantage,” stated Lina.
The rider with the all-around skill was expected to dominate the five-stage 10th edition of the Le Tour de Filipinas.
Before the start of the race national team coaches Reinhardt Gorrantes and Ednalyn Hualda said this year’s Le Tour de Filipinas would not only favor the sprinters and the climbers but the cyclists who are strong in both terrains.
“There are mountain passes in the race but let us not forget the middle stages which are almost all flat with a slightly reclining gradient,” said Gorrantes, head coach of the Philippine National Team composed of the riders from Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance.
Stage 1 and Stage 5 offerred challenges for the climbers, but with the long Stage 1, 2 and 3, tactical riding is a must in the race organized by Ube Media Inc. and which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
As expected it turned out to be a race of strategies as predicted by Hualda. It was like a chess game where competitors had to ponder their moves to win
The entire race covered 822.20 kms of paved road down south of Manila.
The rider with the all-around skill would most likely dominate the five-stage 10th edition of the Le Tour de Filipinas that hits the road from June 14 to 18.
National team coaches Reinhardt Gorrantes and Ednalyn Hualda believe this year’s Le Tour de Filipinas would not only favor the sprinters and the climbers but the cyclists who are strong in both terrains.
“There are mountain passes in the race but let us not forget the middle stages which are almost all flat with a slightly reclining gradient,” said Gorrantes, head coach of the Philippine National Team composed of the riders from Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance.
Hualda agreed saying Stage 1 and Stage 5 offer challenges for the climbers, but with the long Stage 1, 2 and 3, tactical riding is a must in the race organized by Ube Media Inc. and which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
“It would be a race of strategies,” Hualda said. “Like a chess game, you have to ponder your moves to win.”
The entire race covers 822.20 kms of paved road down south of Manila.
The Le Tour kicked off June 14 with a short and demanding 129.50-km Stage 1 on an out-and-back course in Tagaytay City, followed by the 194.90-km Stage Two on June 15 from Pagbilao in Quezon to Daet in Camarines, Norte.
Stage Three was 183.70 kms from Daet to Legazpi City and Stage Four covered 176.00 kms from Legazpi City via Sorsogon and Gubat and back to the Albay capital.
Stage Five was also out-and-back in Legazpi City but via Donsol in Sorsogon for a total of 145.80 kms—a crucial final leg where the cyclists had to endure pedaling over rolling hills and strong winds