SOUTHEAST Asian Games medalist Ronald Oranza and Jan Paul Morales are two of 10 members of the PhilCycling men’s national team who are seeing action in different teams in the Tour of Luzon: Great Revival that starts Thursday (April 24) in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

Oranza, double bronze medalist at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games, and Morales lead the International Cycling Union (UCI) continental team along with the veteran Junrey Navarra in the eight-stage race presented by the MVP Group’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and organized by DuckWorld PH.

Reigning national road champion Marcelo Felipe and Nichol Pareja, meanwhile, are racing for another continental team, Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team, as well as Ruzzel Agapito for 7-Eleven Click Roadbike Philippines.

Steven Tablizo and Andrei Deudor are spearheaded of the Philippines Under-23 Tom N Toms squad, with Joshua Pacsual and Julius Tudtud donning the jerseys of Excellent Noodles and DReyna Orion Cement squads.

The Tour of Luzon kicks off with the opening ceremony at the quadrangle in front of the world heritage site San Agustin (Paoay) Church with Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla expected to grace the event along with Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the sanctioning PhilCycling.

Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc and Paoay Mayor Shiella Galano will be on hand to welcome the 119 athletes from the 17 participating teams in the opening ceremony where MPTC Chief Regulatory Officer Arrey Perez will give the opening remarks of the fabled Tour’s revival.

DuckWorld chairman Patrick “Pató Gregorio will declare the race open by ringing a bell symbolic of cycling’s lap bell omnipresent in criterium and track races.

The individual overall winner will bring home P500,000 and the overall team champion will banking P1 million in the Tour that also includes the Go For Gold Philippines, Dandex T-Prime Cycling Team, Exodus Army, MPT Drive Hub Cycling Team, 1 Team Visayas, One Cycling Mindanao and Team Pangasinan.

The CCN Factory HK from Hong Kong was the first team to arrive on Monday via the Clark International Airport, with the Malaysia Pro Cycling, Bryton Racing Team from Taiwan and Gapyeong Cycling Team from South Korea—which will land in Laoag—are expected Tuesday.

The 1,074.90-kilometer Tour of Luzon that starts Thursday (April 24) with the 190.70-km Paoay-Paoay Stage 1, 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.