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MANILA, Philippines — On your marks.
The fabled Tour of Luzon has kicked off once again on Thursday, after years of being on the shelf.
Dubbed as “The Great Revival”, this year’s MPTC Tour of Luzon is held 70 years after the first edition.
“The Tour of Luzon is a multi-stage elite cycling race that once defined Philippine cycling, spanning Luzon’s most scenic and challenging routes and recognizing the best among elite cycling athletes of the nation to stimulate national pride,” the Tour’s 2025 race manual read.
“‘The Great Revival’ seeks to restore the Philippines’ place in the UCI calendar as a premier destination for the world’s best cyclists — fortifying the time-tested legacy of Manuel V. Pangilinan, as a visionary sports executive and patron, to Philippine cycling and sports development,” it added.
With cyclists going high and low in the eight-stage spectacle, let’s look back on the history of the Tour.
Inception
The first Tour of Luzon is one of the oldest and most challenging cycling races in the Asian region. It was first launched back in 1955 with the Manila-Vigan Race, which was inspired by the European Grand Tours.
It became an annual competition, until its first cancellation back in 1968, as well as postponements between 1970 and 1972.
But after that, it returned to becoming a yearly thing, mostly known as the Marlboro Tour.
In 1999, though, the global anti-tobacco campaign forced the race to a screeching halt. But just three years later, the Tour of Calabarzon was launched, and “reignited public interest and laid the groundwork for the return of national-level races.”
And since then, there was no stopping the tour, with the Le Tour de Filipinas bringing the Philippines to the international stage.
That is, until the coronavirus disease pandemic ravaged the world.
And now, after five years, the Tour of Luzon is back and is bigger than ever.
From left: Patrick Gregorio, chief organizer MPTC Tour of Luzon and Duckworld PH chairman; Paoay Mayor Shiella Galano; MPTC Tour of Luzon Executive Director Arrey Perez; Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino; Sylvia Lina, chairperson of Go21; MPTC President Jose Ma.Lim; Donna May Lina of UBE Media; and Ed Castro, former Vice Chair of OVS of Department of Foreign Affairs pose during the opening ceremonies of the MPTC Tour of Luzon 2025 in front of the historic Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte.
Tour of Luzon
The Tour now
In this year’s edition, organized by DuckWorld PH, there will be 119 cyclists from 17 teams competing.
Philippine-based squads Dreyna Orion Cement, Excellent Noodles Cycling Team, Standard Insurance Philippines, Dandex T-Prime Cycling Team, Exodus Army Cycling Team, Go for Gold Philippines, Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team, MPT Drivehub Cycling Team, Philippines Under 23 Tom ‘N Toms Coffee, Crest Forwarder, One Cycling Mindanao, 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines and Team Pangasinan, as well as South Korea’s Gapyeong Cycling Team, Taiwan’s Bryton Racing Team, Malaysia’s Malaysia Pro Cycling and Hong Kong’s CCN Factory Racing HK will compete.
There are eight stages, beginning with the Paoay to Paoay race on Thursday. This covers 195.2 kilometers, which will start and end near the Paoay Church.
The next day, the second stage will be from Paoay to Vigan. The distance will be 68.5 kilometers.
From there, the third stage will be from Vigan to San Juan, La Union. It will run for 135 kilometers, followed by the Agoo to Clark fourth stage, which will run for 168.76 kilometers.
The fifth stage will be from Clark to Clark running 160.6 kilometers, followed by the Clark to Lingayan Stage 6, which will have 174.5 kilometers.
Stage 7 will cover Lingayen, Pangasinan to Labrador, Pangasinan which will have a distance of 15.2 kilometers.
The final stage will be from Lingayen to Camp John Hay in Baguio City, which will cover 177.54 kilometers.
All-in-all, the Tour of Luzon will have 1,060.7 kilometers.
The total prize pot for the event is P6.15 million, with prizes for team general classification, individual general classification, under-23 general classification, eagles of the mountain, sprint general classification, team time trial, individual stage classification, under-23 stage classification, sprint stage classification, and most combative.
Search on for Filipino bet in Tour de France
According to Pangilinan, it has been his dream to see the first Filipino cyclist in the Tour de France, and reviving the Tour of Luzon is a “vital step” toward that vision.
“Through the Great Revival of this iconic race, we not only honor its rich legacy, but also pave the way for future champions to rise on the global stage,” he said.
“The greatness of the Tour of Luzon lies in its timeless vision: to conquer the impossible — not through luck or shortcuts, but through the sheer power of human will, steadfast discipline and relentless determination,” he added.
“May the inspiration of this shared dream move us forward – faster, stronger and more united.”
And now, with the Great Revival, the dream of the first Filipino in the Tour de France may be closer than ever.
