PhilCycling National Trials for Road set in Clark
COMPETITIVE cycling completes its 1-2 punch against the pandemic with the staging of the PhilCycling National Trials for Road on July 10 and 11 at the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.
After the successful staging of the National Mountain Bike Trials in Danao City last June 11 to 13, it’s the turn of the road cyclists to get into action.
“Competitive cycling’s been out for more than one and a half years now, but we’re back to racing, thanks to the private sector support and the government’s endearing effort to beat the pandemic through sports,” Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Integrated Cycling of the Philippines (PhilCycling) President Abraham Tolentino said.
To make the road national trials possible, PhilCycling had to secure the approval of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Central Luzon (Region 3) Regional Task Force, Office of Civil Defense, Department of Health, Philippine National Police, Province of Pampanga and the Department of Tourism.
The races will be staged in a bubble environment. Races will be in Men and Women Individual Time Trial (ITT) and Criterium on July 10 and Road on July 11.
All participants — cyclists, race officials, staff, among others — were subjected to at least one RT-PCR and Antigen tests as prescribed by the health protocols set by POC Medical Director Dr. Jose Raul Canlas.
As part of the safety protocols, race officials, organizers and staff will be billeted at the Quest Hotel Plus Conference Center, while cyclists will return to their homes right after the awarding ceremonies for their events.
The Clark Parade Grounds is the main (start-finish) venue. The ITT races are set at 24.6 kms for the men and 18 kms for the women, the criterium will be over a 2.3-km circuit at the parade grounds while the road races will be on a 24.6-km loop (six laps for the men and four laps for the women).
The national trials are organized by PhilCycling in collaboration with Standard Insurance, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Bases Conversion Development Authority and the Clark Development Corp.
