BAGUIO CITY—The Tour of Luzon is not just a race to determine stage winners and an overall champion. For Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick Gregorio, it is where the Philippines begins to find the cyclists who could one day wear the national colors.
The sports chief said the 14-stage, 1,800-kilometer journey from Calatagan, Batangas to Baguio City has evolved into a crucial scouting ground for Filipino talent capable of enduring elite-level competition.
“Asking around, you begin to hear names of promising riders,” Gregorio said. “This is where you see who can survive this kind of race, who has the engine, the heart, and the discipline that we can develop further for the national team.”
Addressing the crowd at the close of the race, Gregorio captured the magnitude of the event in both scale and meaning.
“What a race. Fourteen stages. One thousand eight hundred kilometers. Five regions and thirteen provinces,” he said. “The Tour of Luzon remains the toughest, most spectacular race in the country — our heritage in motion.”
Gregorio also framed cycling as a reflection of the Filipino spirit, drawing from the story of a beloved cycling figure he paid tribute to during the ceremonies.
“In the last two weeks, I realized why Filipinos love cycling so much,” he said. “Because cycling is the story of every Filipino, the hardship, the perseverance, the climb.”
He described the brutal heat, the punishing climbs, and the endless pedaling as something riders endure without quitting.
“You don’t know if it’s penance, punishment, or madness, padyak nang padyak, tulak nang tulak, but they don’t give up,” he said. “That is the soul and spirit of the Filipino people.”
For Gregorio, that is why spectators cheer as loudly for the first rider to cross the line as they do for the last rider who refuses to quit.
Gregorio noted how this year’s edition drew crowds several times larger than last year’s revival staging, with highways and town centers filled with spectators from Batangas to Pangasinan and up to Baguio.
He was particularly struck by children arriving at finish areas as early as morning, already wearing helmets and cycling gear.
“They’re not just cheering. They’re dreaming,” he said. “That’s what the Tour of Luzon is all about, the dreams of Filipino kids.”
He shared that in conversations about potential prospects, names like Joshua Nash Lim of MPT Drive Hub, the highest-rated Filipino in the Tour, have already surfaced, early signs that the race is serving its purpose as a talent discovery platform.
Gregorio also welcomed the growing presence of foreign teams, saying local riders appreciate the exposure to different styles and world-class competition.
“As athletes, you want to beat the best,” he said. “That’s how you improve.”
He added that interest from international squads continues to grow, while even officials from the Union Cycliste Internationale have begun monitoring the race’s progress.
