PHILIPPINE CONTINENTAL TEAM LBC

LBC LAUNCHES CYCLING TOUR

The country’s leading remittance and courier company unveils the grandest stage for cycling pros and enthusiasts in the Philippines.

LBC Ronda Pilipinas is set to take participants through challenging but scenic courses that showcase the various terrain in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. “Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the Philippines and we want to give our athletes a venue to train and develop in the sport in preparation for international competitions,” says LBC SVP-Marketing Javier Mantecon. “Moreover, this is the perfect opportunity for us to promote LBC’s GO GREEN Advocacy in order to raise awareness of and action towards environmental preservation.”

LBC launched two major environmental campaigns last year: the switch to biodegradable pouches, and Linis Dagat, a livelihood project that aids 15 families in Lian, Batangas who clear the shoreline of plastic waste, which is then sent to an LBC facility where it is cleaned, melted down, and converted into shelving units and sold to LBC offices nationwide. Proceeds from the sales go to the families as regular salaries.

GO GREEN has since become an integral part of all of LBC’s initiatives, with Ronda Pilipinas being the latest addition to its projects.

Scheduled for late September to October 2011, LBC Ronda Pilipinas will consist of a 20-day route of 12 stages, at about 140 kilometers per stage for an estimated total distance of 1650 kilometers.

Twelve teams (six cyclists per team) made up of professional men’s teams or elite clubs will be invited by the Ronda Pilipinas committee, based on qualifying rounds held in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao pegged for May.

Meanwhile, an executive race will be open to non-professional males for two to three stages of the race. It will be open to executive clubs with six cyclists per team.

At stake? A total of more than P7 million in prizes, including the top individual prize of P1 million and top team prize of another P1 million.

LBC Ronda Pilipinas is organized by LBC and Multi Event Enterprise, in collaboration with PhilCycling.

“We’re excited to already have so much support from both our local and international partners,” Mantecon says. “We want LBC Ronda Pilipinas to be monumental. If there’s one event that cyclists should look forward to in the country, this should be it.”

The executive race is open to all professional and elite level cyclists based in the Philippines who are at least 19 years of age. Registration is from April 1 to 29, 2011 at Ronda Pilipinas Secretariat (LBC Express Solutions, Inc. 2308 Natividad Bldg., Don Chino Roces Extension, Makati City). For details, visit http://www.rondapilipinas.com or call (02) 8405551.

LBC TOUR

The nation’s top cyclists test their limits anew when the inaugural staging of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas, a grueling 20-day competition, begins late September with challenging yet scenic routes serving as background.

At least twelve teams of six cyclists each are expected to vie in the 12-stage tour, which has a total cash prize of P7 million, one of the biggest in years with the individual champion getting P1 million and the team winner also P1million.

Reaching the finish line won’t be a walk in the park as the tour, exclusive only for locals, is expected to cover an estimated distance of 1,650 kilometers marked by treacherous terrains, hairpin curves and excruciating mountain climbs.

The tour, sanctioned by the International Cycling Union, starts in Cagayan de Oro and will take the riders to the picturesque landscapes of the western nautical highways, passing through Dumaguete, Iloilo, Aklan, Roxas, Calapan, Batangas, Tarlac, Vigan, Pampanga with the Vigan-Baguio leg considered the as the killer loop.