POC chief bats for foreign cyclists’ continued inclusion in Tour of Luzon

MANILA, Philippines — Since the Tour of Luzon returned, foreigners have ruled the event.

Last year, in the competition dubbed as the “Great Revival”, Korea’s Dae Yoong Joo brought home the yellow jersey. And this year, which ended earlier this week, Russia’s Nikita Shulchenko topped the competition.

But Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling chief Abraham Tolentino said that this only pushes Filipino cyclists to excel.

“You cannot segregate the Filipino and the foreign cyclists in the cycling race because it will defeat the purpose to help them improve and be inspired,” Tolentino said.

“We cannot stop and regulate the arrival of foreign cyclists because the Tour of Luzon is open.”

Tolentino voiced optimism with the chances of Filipinos winning the coveted yellow jersey, which is awarded to the athlete who tops the general classification.

“Tour of Luzon this year has totally grown up for the better compared to last year, but no Filipino has won the yellow jersey. But that is okay. The competition made them better,” he said.

“I believe we can get a yellow jersey soon. We will get one soon. The race also becomes more exciting,” Tolentino added.

Two Filipinos — Emmanuel Dave Montemayor of Go for Gold and veteran Ryan Tugawin of Excellent Noodles — were the only Filipinos that won a stage in this year’s Tour of Luzon after bagging lap three and eight, respectively, while their foreign counterparts won the rest.

He said that the race could also be extended in any part of Luzon next year.

Last year, the eight-stage competition is 1,074.90-kilometer. This year was much bigger, with the tournament have 14 stages and runs 1,709.3 kilometers.

“The race is getting better and bigger this year, and by next year it will become bigger,” he said.

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