Tour de Filipinas

Le Tour de Pilipinas

Race details
Region	Philippines
English name	Tour of the Philippines
Local name(s)	Tour ng Pilipinas
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI Asia Tour 2.2
Type	Stage race
Organiser	Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines
Web site	www.letourdefilipinas.com
History
First edition	1955 (as Tour of Luzon)
First winner	Antonio Arzala (PHI)
Most wins	Antonio Arzala (PHI) (3 wins)
Most recent	Jeroen Meijers (NED)

The Le Tour de Filipinas is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Luzon, Philippines since 1955 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It is held in April every year. While the course changes every year, the tour traditionally ends at Rizal Park, Manila, although recently the tour has ended in Baguio after being licensed by the UCI. Its previous names included the Tour of Luzon, Marlboro Tour, Tour of Calabarzon, Tour Pilipinas and Padyak Pinoy, before carrying the current name.

History

1955 – 1976: Tour of Luzon

In 1955, the Tour was launched as a four-stage race from Manila to Vigan race won by Antonio Arzala. But, a year later, the race was renamed as the Tour of Luzon and carried the name until 1976 (there was no tour held in 1968, 1970–1972).

The prominent riders included two-time Tour champions Cornelio Padilla, Jr. of Central Luzon and Jose Sumalde of Bicol. However, in 1977, a rift within the PCAP (see below) led to a split of two tours during the said year. However, according to the Padyak Pinoy website, the event organized by Geruncio Lacuesta is recognized on their official list. The tour's name ended by 1978 as Marlboro entered the scene.

1979 – 1998: Marlboro Tour

By 1979, Marlboro became the official sponsor of the tour and the event was named as Marlboro Tour, a name that is commonly familiar to ardent racers and fans. During these times, the tour expanded its routes, by including cities from Visayas in the leg, with the final laps regularly held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

From 1997-1998, the tour allowed riders from Asia to compete in the event and was sanctioned by the UCI. It also led to Wong Kam-po of Hong Kong to become the first non-Filipino to win the event in 1997, after overtaking 1996 winner Victor Espiritu for the lead in the latter stages.

The format used for the teams are based on provinces with the national team included in the race. It was also the same format when Asian riders participated in the event beginning in 1997.

1999 – 2001: End of Marlboro Tour

In 1999, Marlboro backed out as sponsor which proved to be a devastating blow to the organizers. The tour lost about a possible 60-million pesos to finance the tour. With this, there was no tour held from 1999-2001. To compensate the loss of the so-called "Summer Cycling Spectacle", other groups formed mini-races during the summer.

A law was passed banning cigarette brands advertisements on TV, radio or any form like sport events like The Marlboro Tour.

2002 – Recent years

In 2002, the tour was revived after Airfreight 2100 of Bert Lina and Lito Alvarez financed the tour. A four-leg race was held in late-May known as Tour of CALABARZON won by Santy Barnachea. A year later, the tour was renamed as Tour Pilipinas, and held a 17-leg race, the longest since 1998. The tour was won by Arnel Quirimit of Pangasinan.

Ryan Tanguilig won in 2004 in a 10-stage tour. In 2005, the tour was renamed as the Golden Tour 50 @ 05, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Tour. 1998 champion Warren Davadilla, who won the last edition of the Marlboro, was the champion. In 2006, several disputes within the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines led to a short eight stage event dubbed with the current Padyak Pinoy name, won by Barnachea.

Its current corporate sponsor is Airfreight 2100, the official brand-carrier of FedEx and Air21, thru the UBE Media, Inc. (producers of the TV program Panahon.TV), who has founded the tour since 2002. From 1979-1998, Marlboro was the carrying sponsor of the tour before backing out of the tour, resulting in the tour's stoppage for the next three years.

Stages

Marlboro Tour days

These were the stages in 1996:

1. Davao City to Carmen, Davao del Norte
2. Tagum, Davao del Norte to Butuan
3. Butuan to Cagayan de Oro
4. Cebu City to Cebu City (individual time trial)
5. Cebu City to Cebu City via Santander
6. Dumaguete to Bacolod
7. Iloilo City to Iloilo City via Pototan, Iloilo (team time trial)
8. Iloilo City to Iloilo City via San Jose de Buenavista, Antique
9. Pasay to Lucena
10. Lucena to Marikina
11. Marikina to Olongapo
12. Olongapo to Alaminos, Pangasinan
13. Alaminos, Pangasinan to San Jose, Nueva Ecija
14. San Jose, Nueva Ecija to Banaue, Ifugao
15. Banaue, Ifugao to Tuguegarao, Cagayan
16. Tuguegarao, Cagayan to Vigan, Ilocos Sur
17. Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Baguio
18. Rosario, La Union to Baguio (individual time trial)
19. Baguio to Baguio

Le Tour de Filipinas days

These were the stages in 2019:

1. Tagaytay, Cavite to Tagaytay, Cavite via Lemery, Batangas
2. Pagbilao, Quezon to Daet, Camarines Norte
3. Daet, Camarines Norte to Legazpi, Albay
4. Legazpi, Albay to Legazpi, Albay via Sorsogon City
5. Legazpi, Albay to Legazpi, Albay via Donsol, Sorsogon

Past winners

Tour of Luzon

Year	Date	Stages	Distance	Winner	Time
1955[1]	28 April–1 May	4	418 km	Antonio Arzala (PHI)
1956	23–27 May	5	1,057 km	Antonio Arzala (PHI)	33:45:08
1957	28 May–7 June	6	1,155 km	Rufino Gabot (PHI)	51:45:22
1958	14–20 April	7	1,517 km	Mamerto Eden (PHI)	61:14:08
1959	12–19 April	8	1,634 km	Antonio Arzala (PHI)	59:44:50
1960	14–22 May	9	1,648 km	Rodrigo Abaquita (PHI)	57:51:02
1961	25 April–7 May	12	2,167 km	Jose Moring Jr. (PHI)	59:44:50
1962	26 March–8 April	12	1,870.23 km	Edmundo De Guzman (PHI)	61:04:50
1963	21 April–5 May	14	2,334.38 km	Gonzalo Recodos (PHI)	78:27:54
1964	19 April–3 May	14	1,967.60 km	Jose Sumalde (PHI)	60:22:09
1965	25 April–9 May	14	2,049.31 km	Jose Sumalde (PHI)	65:13:19
1966	23 April–8 May	15	1,999.82 km	Cornelio Padilla (PHI)	60:45:31
1967	12–19 April	8	1,634 km	Cornelio Padilla (PHI)	70:34:57
1968	Cancelled
1969[2]	18–27 April	10	1,208.40 km	Domingo Quilban (PHI)	37:50:29
1970–1972	Cancelled
1973	11–20 May	10	1,214 km	Jesus Garcia Jr. (PHI)	34:38:38
1974[3]	23 April–12 May	18	2,540.95 km	Teodorico Rimarim (PHI)	78:35:19
1975	19 April–4 May	15	2,207.87 km	Samson Etrata (PHI)	66:18:48
1976	21 April–9 May	6	2,200 km	Modesto Bonzo (PHI)	66:31:10

Tour of the Philippines

Year	Name	Date	Stages	Distance	Winner	Time
1977 [4]	Tour ng Pilipinas	2 May–5 June	24	4,000 km	Manuel Reynante (PHI)	106:57:20
	Marlboro Tour ng Pilipinas[5]	7–26 June	3	1,697 km	Jesus Garcia Jr. (PHI)	55:37:52
1978	Perk Speed Tour[6]	9–12 February	4	405.8 km	Rumin Salamante (PHI)	10:11:10
1979	Marlboro Tour	18–30 April	11	1,900 km	Paquito Rivas (PHI)	60:01:06
1980	Tour of the Philippines	15 April–11 May	21	2,780.83 km	Manuel Reynante (PHI)	83:08:00
1981	Tour of the Philippines	17 March–12 April	21	3,058.81 km	Jacinto Sicam (PHI)	87:25:43

Marlboro Tour

Year	Name	Date	Stages	Distance	Winner	Time
1982	Marlboro Tour	22 April–9 May	15	2,192 km	Jacinto Sicam (PHI)	61:29:17
1983	Marlboro Tour	16 April–1 May	14	2,313.11 km	Romeo Bonzo (PHI)	63:54:31
1984	Marlboro Tour	26 May–10 June	14	2,464 km	Ruben Carino (PHI)	68:08:49
1985	Marlboro Tour	18 April–12 May	21	3,668.97 km	Pepito Calip (PHI)	97:04:42
1986	Marlboro Tour	26 April–11 May	10	2,900.77 km	Rolando Pagnanawon (PHI)	77:39:53
1987	Marlboro Tour	21 May–7 June	17	3,282 km	Reynaldo Dequito (PHI)	88:06:50
1988	Marlboro Tour	28 April–15 May	17	3,544.53 km	Armando Catalan (PHI)	94:44:03
1989	Marlboro Tour	26 April–14 May	18	3,539.47 km	Gerardo Igos (PHI)	95:40:23
1990	Marlboro Tour	18 April–6 May	18	3,317.42 km	Manuel Buenaventura (PHI)	95:58:38
1991	Marlboro Tour	25 April–12 May	17	2,373.61 km	Bernardo Llentada (PHI)	63:33:17
1992	Marlboro Tour	21 May–7 June	17	2,731.38 km	Renato Dolosa (PHI)	71:21:49
1993	Marlboro Tour	17 April–9 May	21	3,480 km	Carlo Guieb (PHI)	91:41:54
1994	Marlboro Tour	17 April–9 May	20	3,563 km	Carlo Guieb (PHI)	91:24:13
1995	Marlboro Tour	18 March–8 April	19	3,280.33 km	Renato Dolosa (PHI)	83:43:39
1996	Marlboro Tour	14 April–5 May	19	3,257.29 km	Victor Espiritu (PHI)	80:50:46
1997	Marlboro Tour[7]	16 April–4 May	16	2,472 km	Wong Kam-po (HKG)	62:06:28
1998	Marlboro Centennial Tour	15 April–3 May	16	2,494 km	Warren Davadilla (PHI)	64:58:57
1999–2001	Cancelled

Le Tour de Pilipinas / Padyak Pinoy / FedEx/Air21 Tour

Year	Name	Date	Stages	Distance	Winner	Time
2002	FedEx Tour of CALABARZON	30 May–2 June	4	517.7 km	Santi Barnachea (PHI)	12:41:13
2003	Air21 Tour Pilipinas	16 April–11 May	15	2,849.8 km	Arnel Quirimit (PHI)	55:29:20
2004	Air21 Tour Pilipinas	15 April–2 May	17	2,849.8 km	Rhyan Tanguilig (PHI)	70:28:59
2005	Golden Tour 50@05	26 May–5 June	10	1,492 km	Warren Davadilla (PHI)	37:20:55
2006	Padyak Pinoy Tour Pilipinas	12–18 May	8	1,219.4 km	Santi Barnachea (PHI)	31:10:03
2007	Padyak Pinoy	17–29 May	10	1,500 km	Victor Espiritu (PHI)	33:02:38
2008	Cancelled
2009	Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions	8–15 May	8	1,070 km	Joel Calderon (PHI)	29:52:33
2010	Le Tour de Filipinas	12–20 April	4	468.8 km	David McCann (IRL)[8]	11:29:20
2011	Le Tour de Filipinas	16–19 April	4	468.8 km	Rahim Emami (IRI)	12:15:34
2012	Le Tour de Filipinas	14–17 April	4	502 km	Baler Ravina[9] (PHI)	13:20:32
2013	Le Tour de Filipinas	13–16 April	4	616 km	Ghader Mizbani (IRI)	16:38:37
2014	Le Tour de Filipinas	21–24 April	4	614.8 km	Mark Galedo (PHI)	17:12:05
2015	Le Tour de Filipinas	1–4 February[10]	4	532.5 km	Thomas Lebas (FRA)	13:40:49
2016	Le Tour de Filipinas	18–21 February[11]	4	691 km	Oleg Zemlyakov (KAZ)[12]	17:36:23
2017	Le Tour de Filipinas	18–21 February	4	726.55 km	Jai Crawford (AUS)	17:33:07
2018	Le Tour de Filipinas	20–23 May	4	638.37 km	El Joshua Cariño (PHI)	12:25:23
2019	Le Tour de Filipinas	14–18 June	5	822.3 km	Jeroen Meijers (NED)	20:38:07
2020	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023

In the 2016 edition, race organizers had to stop the stage 1 event due to unprecedented road repairs, followed by traffic jams in Tiaong, Quezon, the first in the history of Le Tour de Filipinas.^[13]

Jerseys

Like other bicycle rices, the Tour also hands out specific jerseys:^[14]

• Yellow: General classification
• Purple: Best Filipino rider
• Green: Best sprinter
• Red polka dot: Best climber
• White: Young rider

Notes

1. Manila–Vigan Bicycle Race
2. Tour ng Filipinas
3. Tour of Luzon–Visayas
4. There were two Tours held in 1977. The Tour ng Pilipinas was won by Manuel Reynante.
5. Staged by the Geruncio Lacuesta, acknowledged father of Philippine bikathoning, after a split among the cyclists and the formation of the Professional Cycling Association of the Philippines (PCAP) with Matias Defensor as president. Garcia won the Mindanao stage, Casta the Visayas stage and Gorospe the Luzon stage. It was Lacuesta's last tour as the PCAP took over center stage two years later in 1979. This tour is considered official by the current organization.
6. No regular tour held; instead the perk speed tour was run Feb. 9-12 over four laps aimed at producing the first cyclist(s) to achieve an average 40 km/h. Starting in Manila and winding up in Olongapo City, the speed test measured 405.8 km.s. Rumin Salamante won the event in 10 hrs. 11 mins., 10 secs.
7. In 1997, the Tour allowed cyclists from the neighboring Asian countries to participate in the event. Wong became the first foreign cyclist to win the event. Asian riders were allowed to participate in 1998.
8. David McCann is the first European cyclist to win the Tour. Non-Asian riders were allowed to participate in 2010.
9. Baler Ravina was the first Filipino overall winner in Le Tour de Filipina that was sanctioned by UCI.
10. "13 continental teams, two national squads vie for honors in le Tour de Filipinas".
11. "2016 Le Tour kicks off Feb. 18". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
12. Lagunzad, Jerome (February 21, 2016). "Young Kazakh rider earns spurs in Le Tour". Fox Sports Asia. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
13. "Road repairs ruin Le Tour's kick-off leg". Manila Bulletin. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
14. Corp., ABS-CBN. "Le Tour de Filipinas: Oranza wins chaos-free Stage 2". ABS-CBN SPORTS. Retrieved 2018-06-01.

External links

• Official website
• Tour de Filipinas palmares at Cycling Archives (archived)
• Statistics at the-sports.org
• Le Tour de Filipinas at cqranking.com