MANILA, Philippines – The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association-Tour of Luzon qualifying series for the 2010 multi-stage bikathon will kick off tomorrow with a massed start circuit race on Macapagal Highway in Pasay City.
A total of 200 elite riders are expected to answer the starting gun for the 80-kilometer race, the first of four qualifying tournaments put up by LPGMA for the 15-stage Liquigaz-LPGMA Tour of Luzon next year.
LPGMA president Arnel Ty said the top 100 cyclists would advance to the Tour based on the ranking points the riders had accumulated after the four qualifying races scheduled within the year.
Supported by the Tour of Luzon Bike & Café managed by two-time Tour champion Renato Dolosa, the LPGMA qualifying is an offshoot of the successful seven-day Liquigaz-LPGMA Tour of Luzon last April where Mark Guevarra reigned supreme.
``We are holding these qualifying races to form the teams early and assure quality competition,’’ said Ty, who has again tapped the technical expertise of the Professional Cycling Association of the Philippines headed by Paquito Rivas and Caloy Gredonia.
LPGMA, the top local distributor of liquefied petroleum gas, will also hold executive races for beginners and categories A and B (massed start and team time trials) on Sunday aside from the elite and junior division races.
Ty said the participating riders in the elite would also compete in the succeeding qualifying races in August (Tagaytay City), October (Sierra Madre) and December (Macapagal Highway) where the top 100 cyclists with the highest rankings would make it outright to the Tour proper.
Ty also broached the idea of sending three local riders backed by Liquigaz and LPGMA to train in Italy where they could hopefully secure a slot in the team roster of Liquigaz in the Tour de France next year.
According to Ty, cyclists Jeffrey Monton, Jackie Lloyd Berjame, Nico Barreto and Michael Ochoa will be tested in a series of races until December.
They will also undergo basic Italian communication lessons prior to the start of the Liquigas training camp in January.