It is a long and steep road for a Filipino to ride in the Tour de France, the international stage for cycling talent. But how about our neighboring Asian countries? Are there races there that we can join where we can show off our talents?
Unfortunately, the races that matter are all in Europe. The most famous cycling event for beginners is called the Tour l’Avenir. This is a French race and when translated to English, it’s called the, “Tour of the Future ‘’ (champions).
Three of the winners of this race since 2010 include Nairo Quintana, Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogacar. But it’s not the getting in the Tour l’Avenir that is the thing. The thing is how to get selected for a team before the scouts sees your talent for the Tour.
In this country, there is no structured racing. Sponsors come and go, and so does the team. Cycling as a professional sport attracts the lower to middle class in our society. So if you want a race-ready bike, it’s not easy.
If you want to sponsor a team of ten riders, then imagine the cost of the bike times 10. Include the team directors, masseuse, mechanic, PR folks. You’d also need a bus (or a plane/boat ticket) to take the team to and from the race venues. The logistics would amount to the millions in pesos.
In road racing, you need a team of riders to be successful. No one can ride a race without a team and win. It just doesn’t happen in road racing, but it can be done in mountain bikes. MTB is the cheaper option in the cycling discipline because the race is held in a circuit and you don’t need a team to be successful.
Finally, even if there is a team sponsor, there are no races to go to. What’s the point of putting up a team then? Unless of course, the team consists of neighborhood folks, or office mates.
So what’s next if there already is a team? Then the team needs to go abroad to race. The biggest race that was just within our neck of the woods was the Tour De Langkawi in Malaysia. Malaysia, as small as it is, is actually a powerhouse in cycling, especially track cycling, producing a World Champion in Asizz Awang in the Keirin. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Malaysian would be the first Southeast Asian to make it to the Tour de France. Cycling is a big sport in Malaysia, and their cyclists there are treated as superstars. Here, cyclists are treated as traffic pests.
So back to the headline/question of this column- I would definitely say yes, but, I think that this Filipino rider will be someone who’s family emigrated to Europe or the USA. This rider will be trained under their programs, ride on their teams. An example would be Coryn Rivera. Coryn grew up with a family that loved bike racing in California. Along the way, she won the Tour of Flanders and rode the Tour de France. She is still actively racing and I hope she will be an inspiration to Filipinos to make it big in cycling one day.