Larga Pilipinas returns with six-stage cycling race in August

Larga Pilipinas is reviving its multi-stage cycling race this year, with a six-leg route that will start in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija on August 2 and end in Baguio City on August 7.

The event marks the group’s return to competitive road cycling seven years after its last race in 2018, which drew more than 10,000 participants in EDSA and Marikina. Organizers are expecting another strong turnout.

“We call this a people’s race and a race for all,” said Larga Pilipinas operations director Snow Badua during Tuesday’s launch. “So we’re expecting a bigger turnout than the last.”

Ten professional teams are expected to join, including Go for Gold, Standard Insurance-Navy, Excellent Noodles, D-Reyna Orion Cement, and Metro Pacific Tollways Drivehub, the reigning Tour of Luzon champion, according to Larga Pilipinas chair Atty. Froi Dayco.

The race will cover 809 kilometers over six stages, including flat terrain, rolling hills, and mountain climbs. It is sanctioned by PhilCycling and supported by private sponsors.
In contrast with the Tour of Luzon, which tested riders under intense summer heat, this race could feature rainy conditions, especially in the northern legs.

“Part of the challenge is the weather and the roads when it rains,” Dayco said. “We just hope for good weather in August.”

Four of the six stages will feature ascents, making the route more suited for climbing specialists, according to PhilCycling elite commissaire Sunshine Joy Vallejos. “The race favors climbers, but strategy will still play a big role.”

The first two legs are relatively flat:

• Stage 1: 197 km, Cabanatuan-Cabanatuan
• Stage 2: 146 km, Cabanatuan to Mangaldan

The remaining four stages feature climbs:

• Stage 3: 146 km, Mangaldan to Bayombong
• Stage 4: 95.2 km, Bayombong to Banaue
• Stage 5: 83.1 km, Banaue to Sagada
• Stage 6: 142 km, Sagada to Baguio

“This will be a climber’s race,” said Standard Insurance team director Reinhard Gorrantes. His team, led by veterans Ronald Oranza, George Oconer, Ronald Lomotos, and Junrey Navarra, is considered among the early contenders.