Over a thousand riders of all genders, fitness, and skill levels pound the road today (Sunday, April 23) as the Sun Life Cycle PH gets back to the mainstream at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite.
Held as part of Sun Life’s continuing effort to inspire more Filipinos to pursue a healthy, active lifestyle and at the same time strengthen family bonds, the Cycle PH features the kids (2-3 years old) 100m ride, criterium (30 mins solo ride) and criterium with parents, and the individual 30K, individual 40K and 60K corporate/team ride.
Actors Piolo Pascual and Matteo Guidecelli, two of showbiz’s most active participants in sports, having competed in various IRONMAN races, and fellow Sun Life brand ambassador Donny Pangilinan bring a lot of star power to the event as they blend with beginners and bike enthusiasts at the challenging routes at Vermosa.
A one-stop fitness destination, the sprawling Vermosa complex is equipped with training facilities designed for international sports competitions. It hosted the SEA Games in 2019 and the IronKids last year.
Sun Life Philippines launched the Cycle PH in 2016, instantly drawing a huge field while sustaining its campaign to help Filipinos live healthier lives and achieve lifetime financial security before the Covid-19 pandemic brought all sports activities to an abrupt halt in 2020.
“It goes hand-in-hand,” said Sun Life Chief Client Experience and Marketing Officer Carla Gonzalez-Chong. “Because of this advocacy, Sun Life, a long-time partner of the organizing Sunrise Events, Inc., also went into offering health and insurance products that actually help Filipinos protect their health.”
“We started first by offering health and wellness classes through our community, the Go-Well community. We sponsored fitness clubs, the SunPiology, and started doing signature events, like fun runs, fun races and we sponsored the IRONMAN and endurance runs,” added Gonzalez-Chong.
The Sun Life Cycle PH actually caps a two-week bike festival ushered in by the kids’ bike camp at BGC last week with Pangilinan as its top draw and where Sun Life donated 25 bikes to the Good Neighbors Foundation International.
The host city has also guaranteed Cycle PH’s successful staging with Imus City Mayor Alex Advincula enjoining his constituents to support the event.
“The city will continuously promote this event for the benefit it provides, especially in the physical aspect, including the youngsters,” said Advincula. “When it comes to sports, people need to stay fit – health is wealth, so we really should focus on this.”