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THE country’s top cyclists led by Baler Ravina and
Irish Villanueva see action in the Liquigaz Race To the Lion’s
Head which kicks off Sunday at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.
Out to crowd Ravina and
Villanueva in the 250-kilometer Manila to Baguio race are seasoned
riders Victor Espiritu, Merculio Ramos, Arnel Quirimit, Santy
Barnachea, Erick Feliciano, Lloyd Reynante, Warren Davadilla,
Bernard Luzon, Ericson Obosa and Emetilano Atilano.
Liquigaz Philippines Corp. has
taken the cudgels of satisfying the riders’ hunger for a worthy
competition in the Manila-Baguio race, a historic route that paved
the way for the fabled Tour, which in recent years was rechristened
the Padyak Pinoy.
All 96 riders qualified after
passing the grade in the Tagaytay Eagle of the Mountain race held in
February.
“They should watch out for
these two riders [Ravina and Villanueva],” said race manager
Paquito Rivas, president of the Philippine National Cycling
Association, which handles the race management of the one-day
bikathon.
“Ravina has won most of the
local races this year while Villanueva has been getting offers to
ride in Indonesia because of his talent,” added Rivas.
Mayor Sonny Belmonte of Quezon
City will be the guest speaker during the simple opening rites at 7
a.m. Also attending are Liquigaz managing director Patrick Lidihoul,
Quezon City representative Nannete Daza Castelo and councilors
Winnie Castelo and Candy Medina.
Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers
Association, the exclusive distributor of multinational corporation
Liquigaz in the country, is the organizer of the event in
partnership with Department of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes.
LPGMA President Arnel Ty said
Liquigaz has dangled a total prize of P375,000 with the winning team
taking home P75,000. The individual champion will earn P10,000 while
P5,000 awaits the winners in the King of the Mountain and Sprint
categories.
“The principal objective
of the event is to create an awareness on energy and fuel
conservation,” said Ty. “At the same time, the race would
somehow keep our cyclists in shape after it was announced that there
will be no Tour this summer,” he added.
Ty said Liquigaz, which
owns a team in the Tour de France, would embark more on a handful of
road races after the Manila-Baguio to emphasize the need to replace
traditional automotive fuel like gasoline and diesel with LPG for
cleaner air.
“It’s our way of supporting
the government’s drive for cleaner air. Our aim is to encourage
private vehicle owners to shift to LPG just like majority of the
taxis that regularly ply Metro Manila,” Ty explained.
From the Quezon Memorial Circle,
the riders will pedal through North Avenue and Edsa before
negotiating McArthur Highway from Monumento. The race will pass
through Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan and climb Baguio
via the Kennon Road.
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