Paoay to host Tour of Luzon opening ceremony
PAOAY, Ilocos Norte — With the UNESCO World Heritage site San Agustin Church serving as the backdrop, the much-awaited Tour of Luzon; Great Revival formally kicks off Wednesday, April 23 with a grand opening ceremony featuring all 119 participants from 17 teams in attendance.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and DuckWorld PH chairman Patrick “Pató” Gregorio will join Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc and Paoay Mayor Shiella Galano in a colorful late afternoon ceremony in this beautiful municipality noted for its rich culture and history dating back to the 17th century.
“It will be a momentous event with the Lord’s blessing showering the whole entourage a day before The Great Revival hits the road,” said Gregorio, whose DuckWorld PH is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the success of the summer cycling extarvaganza also presented by the MVP Group’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), headed by Chief Regulating Officer Arrey Perez.
Based on official announcement, all teams– except Team Pangasinan which is due Wednesday morning — have already arrived in Paoay, including foreign teams CCN Factory HK from Hong Kong, Malaysia Pro Cycling, Bryton Racing Team from Taiwan and Gapyeong Cycling Team from South Korea.
All four foreign teams flew in directly from Clark and Laoag City airports.
Already in town for a few days to acclimatize in the rising summer heat are PhilCycling-registered UCI continental teams Standard Insurance Philippines, Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team, 7-Eleven Click Roadbike Philippines and Go For Gold.
They are joined by the Philippines Under-23 Tom N Toms, Excellent Noodles, DReyna Orion Cement, Dandex T-Prime Cycling Team, Exodus Army, MPT Drive Hub Cycling Team, 1 Team Visayas and One Cycling Mindanao.
The 1,074.90-kilometer Tour of Luzon; Great Revival starts on Thursday, April 24) with the 190.70-km Paoay-Paoay Stage 1,
Stage 1 will be followed by the 68.39-km Paoay-Vigan team time trial Stage 2, 130.33-km Vigan-San Juan Stage 3, 162.97-km Agoo-Clark Stage 4, 166.65 Clark-Clark (via New Clark City) Stage 5, 168.19 Clark-Lingayen Stage 6, 15.14-km individual time trial Labrador-Lingayen Stage 7 and finally the queen Stage 8 which is a 172.53-km from Lingayen to the Scout Hill finish inside Camp John Hay in Baguio City.
