Tolentino eyeing bigger, better Tour

PAOAY, Ilocos Norte — With the eight-leg race just in its infancy, the leadership of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling) wants to stage a Tour of Luzon on steroids — no pun intended — next year.

Philcycling chief Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said during the first stage of the 190-kilometer ride to Pagudpud and back here that the Tour of Luzon is poised to get bigger and better in 2026.

To do just that, Tolentino, also the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, said the annual summer cycling spectacle should grow in stature by the addition of more stages.

“Hope we can add even three legs each in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said Tolentino, who presided over the formal introduction of the 17 local and foreign teams with the UNESCO World Heritage Site San Agustin Paoay Church serving as backdrop.

“The tour is truly inspiring — this is a big thing,” he said, stressing that winning adds a non-monetary but coveted prize.

“Prestige,” Tolentino said.

Dubbed as “The Great Revival,” the 2025 race was resurrected with the help of Manny V. Pangilinan’s group of companies and the local government units of the six provinces hosting legs.

Initially taking place as the Manila-Vigan race in 1955, the Tour was among the country’s top annual sporting events, producing riding legends from the 1960s until the 1990s.

A five-leg race was held the last time in 2019–just before Covid — in southern Luzon with Jeroen Meijers of the Netherlands, riding under the Taiyuan Miogee Cycling Team, emerging as champion of the UCI-sanctioned bikefest.