Post by Mond on Mar 19, 2004 13:52:14 GMT 8
Tour Pilinas - How it started
Alberto D. Lina, chairman of Airfreight 2100, the official licensee of FedEx in the Philippines, wondered out loud: Whatever happened to those festive summer races, where men on two wheels push the envelope on physical limitations on the road to sports immortality?
The thought hung in the air for a long while, until last year, when TrilogyEight, a young and dynamic events organizer group with an inherent PR capacity, snatched the idea from its idleness and put it into action with an idea so simple, it was a wonder why no one ever thought of it yet.
Here was Airfreight 2100, a corporate power willing to flex its financial muscles to bankroll an ambitious program that would revive the cycling tour. And here was the Philippine National Cycling Association, formerly the Professional Cyclists Association of the Philippines, with enough manpower and logistical and technical know-how to mount a full race.
It was just a matter of putting one-and-one together for TrilogyEight.
From February to March last year, a core group composed of Mr. Lina, Angelito A. Alvarez, Paquito Rivas, lawyer Cornelio Padilla and TrilogyEight’s Jun Lomibao, June Navarro and Francis Ochoa, held several brainstorming sessions until a decision was reached: Hold a mini-Tour that would not only test the waters as far as feasibility was concerned, but also herald the rebirth of cycling.
The result? In June last year, the four-day Tour of Calabarzon was held.
The event was such a success, with the race snaking through places such as Lucena, Lipa, Laguna and Antipolo. Santi Barnachea won that event, making him the first champion of the revived Tour.
Because it was warmly accepted by its enthusiasts, Air21 immediately jumped the gun and announced that it would be staging a full-fledged Tour Pilipinas 2003, which will have 15 stages squeezed into 18 fiesta-like days that will sweep throughout the whole of Luzon.
Because of its magnitude, Corporate Image Dimensions was tapped to lend its marketing, advertising and promotions to the Tour.
Several companies and government agencies have thrown their support to the Tour, which Lina and his hard-working group hope will be a developmental program that will produce quality cyclists in the future.
And by all indications, cycling is indeed back on its wheels!
============
For more info and update on the Tour, please visit Tour Pilinas 2004 Website
Alberto D. Lina, chairman of Airfreight 2100, the official licensee of FedEx in the Philippines, wondered out loud: Whatever happened to those festive summer races, where men on two wheels push the envelope on physical limitations on the road to sports immortality?
The thought hung in the air for a long while, until last year, when TrilogyEight, a young and dynamic events organizer group with an inherent PR capacity, snatched the idea from its idleness and put it into action with an idea so simple, it was a wonder why no one ever thought of it yet.
Here was Airfreight 2100, a corporate power willing to flex its financial muscles to bankroll an ambitious program that would revive the cycling tour. And here was the Philippine National Cycling Association, formerly the Professional Cyclists Association of the Philippines, with enough manpower and logistical and technical know-how to mount a full race.
It was just a matter of putting one-and-one together for TrilogyEight.
From February to March last year, a core group composed of Mr. Lina, Angelito A. Alvarez, Paquito Rivas, lawyer Cornelio Padilla and TrilogyEight’s Jun Lomibao, June Navarro and Francis Ochoa, held several brainstorming sessions until a decision was reached: Hold a mini-Tour that would not only test the waters as far as feasibility was concerned, but also herald the rebirth of cycling.
The result? In June last year, the four-day Tour of Calabarzon was held.
The event was such a success, with the race snaking through places such as Lucena, Lipa, Laguna and Antipolo. Santi Barnachea won that event, making him the first champion of the revived Tour.
Because it was warmly accepted by its enthusiasts, Air21 immediately jumped the gun and announced that it would be staging a full-fledged Tour Pilipinas 2003, which will have 15 stages squeezed into 18 fiesta-like days that will sweep throughout the whole of Luzon.
Because of its magnitude, Corporate Image Dimensions was tapped to lend its marketing, advertising and promotions to the Tour.
Several companies and government agencies have thrown their support to the Tour, which Lina and his hard-working group hope will be a developmental program that will produce quality cyclists in the future.
And by all indications, cycling is indeed back on its wheels!
============
For more info and update on the Tour, please visit Tour Pilinas 2004 Website