Tour riders dispersed to balance teams

The 84 riders who passed the stringent qualifying races for the Tour Pilipinas 2003 presented by Air21 have been dispersed into 12 different teams with an eye towards balanced competition, and all the teams are already ripe for the picking as far as corporate sponsors are concerned.

"It took a lot of effort but we really wanted to balance the teams to provide a thrilling race for our cycling enthusiasts," said Mar Mendoza, the Tour’s executive director.

The dispersal was supervised by the Philippine National Cyclists Association (PNCA), which based the groupings on the times submitted by the riders during the qualifying races held since last October.

"Maganda ang balanse ng teams ngayon. Wala ka talagang masasabi na may lamang sa kanila," said Paquito Rivas, the president of the PNCA, which was formerly known as the Professional Cycling Association of the Philippines.

Tour organizer Lito Alvarez, president of Airfreight 2100, sole franchisee of FedEx in the Philippines and main Tour Pilipinas 2003 presentor, said the teams will be available on a first-sign, first-served basis with the different companies that have signified their intention of joining the biggest summer spectacle on wheels.

As of date, already 15 companies have signified intention to be part of the Tour Pilipinas 2003, which will run from April 24 to May 11.

"This will be like a drafting session. Except that the first pick will be the company that signs first for the Tour," said Alvarez.

"Everybody’s excited already. Even we are excited because of the response from the companies that have signified their intention to join us in marking the revival of summer’s favorite sport," said Airfreight 2100 chairman Bert Lina, also the Tour’s chairman.

The vaunted national riders have been scattered into different teams, with Victor Espiritu, Arnel Querimit and Warren Davadilla spearheading different squads.

Past champions Carlo Guieb and Renato Dolosa have also been assigned to skipper a team each while last year’s CALABARZON winner Santy Barnachea will be leading his own team.

The other notable captains are cycling stars Bernard Luzon, Placido Valdez, Bernie Llentada, Felix Celeste, Enrique Domingo and Rolando Pagnanawon.

Because Airfreight 2100 has put a premium on team competition, putting up a P1-million pot for the team championship, the PNCA and the Tour secretariat made sure that teams are evenly-balanced, providing each team with veteran experience, young blood, road racers and time trial experts.