MORE than 500 cyclists will vie in the PhilCycling National Championships for Road that flag off with the Criterium races on Monday (February 24) in Tagaytay City.
The races that will determine the composition of the national road team for this year feature the Men and Women Elite, Under-23, Junior and Youth categories in Criterium, Individual Time Trial (ITT) and Road races.
The championships are presented by the MVP Sports Foundation and Standard Insurance and organized by the PhilCycling headed by Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, also the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee.
There are 111 riders in the Men Elite, 133 in Under-23, 116 in Junior and a combined 97 in Youth 1 and 2 in the championships also backed by Tagaytay City and Excellent Noodles as well as the Philippine Sports Commission, which supports the national teams of cycling.
The roster for the women’s races will be finalized on Sunday morning during the team managers, coaches and riders meetings at the Sigtuna Hall inside the Tagaytay City Atrium.
The Criterium races will be on a 2.1-km circuit on Isaac Tolentino Avenue and Acle, Mahogany and Crisanto Tolentino streets with the start-finish set at the Praying Hands monument.
On Tuesday, the championships will proceed to Nasugbu and Tuy in Batangas for the Individual Time Trial races with the Road events set from Tuesday to Friday over a 44-km circuit with the start-finish area set in Barangay Putol in Tuy and the route over the national highway in Nasugbu, Balayan and Lian.
The championships are also supported by Mayors Jose Jecerell Cerrado (Tuy), Emmanuel Salvador Fronda II (Balayan), Antonio Jose Barcelon (Nasugbu) and Joseph Peji (Lian).
