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Joey Villar - The Philippine Star
April 24, 2025 | 12:00am
PAOAY, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — Four battle-tested Philippine continental teams seeking to impose their will, four dangerous foreign squads eyeing to give a strong challenge and a slew of wide-eyed Filipino young blood out to prove their worth will battle it out and face nature’s elements when the Tour of Luzon kicks off today in this charming little town here.
Fittingly called the MPTC Tour of Luzon 2025: “Great Revival,” the 1,074-kilometer, eight-stage summer cycling spectacle will be unwrapped via its longest stage – a grueling 190.7km Stage One that will start and end near the majestic, centuries old San Agustin or Paoay Church.
A total of 119 cyclists from 17 teams will vie not just for the total pot worth P6.1 million including P1 million to the team champion and P500,000 to the overall individual winner but also the distinction as its first champion on the fabled race’s much awaited return.
And this early, four teams are tipped to lead the country’s campaign – Standard Insurance Philippines, Go for Gold, Victoria Sports and a retooled 7-Eleven Road Bike Philippines with their veteran internationalists.
Of the four, the Navymen of Standard Insurance could draw most of the attention having a veteran-laden lineup that includes skipper Ronald Oranza, Jan Paul Morales, Ronald Lomotos, and George Oconer – all former winners of the defunct Ronda Pilipinas.
“We’re going for the win, of course, but we know it will not be easy because there are strong young riders that are also competing and we can’t also discount the foreign teams,” said Reinhard Gorantes, one of Standard’s team leaders.
Go for Gold, which will be spearheaded by the talented Jericho Jay Lucero, and Victoria Sports, headed by Marcelo Felipe and Daniel Cariño, should also contend for the crown.
“Our strength is our young riders, who are all out to prove themselves,” said Go for Gold director Ednalyn Hualda.
“Our team is prepared. We have raced in Europe in preparation for this,” said Victoria Sports director Joshua Cariño, a 2018 Tour champion.
7-Eleven is another squad that should make its mark as it parades a youth-laden squad led by skipper Rench Michael Bondoc.
“We have a young but experienced team because we have raced internationally. This is their chance to show their worth,” said 7-Eleven director Mark Galedo, a Tour and Ronda titlist and a Southeast Asian Games gold winner.
The foreign squads – Hong Kong’s CCN Factory Racing, Malaysia Pro Cycling Team, Bryton Racing Team of Taiwan and Gapyeong Cycling Team of South Korea – should give the local teams a run for their money.
Also in the field are Tom ‘N Toms, composed of the national Under-23 squad, a Cris Joven and Dominic Perez-led Exodus Army, and Excellent Noodles.
Other teams seeing action are DReyna Orion Cement, Dandex T-Prime Cycling Team, MPT Drivehub Cycling Team, Crest Forwarder (1Team Visayas), One Cycling Mindanao and Pangasinan.
Pangasinan, the country’s cycling hotbed and producer of many Tour champs in the past, was still waiting for its team captain, Efren Reyes Jr. to get his approval from the Army where he is an enlisted personnel.
If not, the team may replace the veteran Reyes with Ronyl Erquiza and assign deputy Jefferson Capua as its new skipper.
