Tight and exciting race seen in 2026 MPTC Tour of Luzon — Dolosa

A BATTLE.

That was how Renato Dolosa, a two-time champion of the fabled Marlboro Tour, described the 2026 MPTC Tour of Luzon (ToL), which is set April 29 to May 14 from Calatagan, Batangas to Baguio City.

“Look at the difference in prizes between the champion and the runner-up, that’s a lot to fight for to the end,” said Mr. Dolosa, now a road race commissaire of the ToL.

The legendary cyclist then known as the “Sorsogon Cyclone” was, of course, referring to the disparity of the champion’s purse worth P1 million and P2 million for the individual and team winners from the individual and team runners up amounting to P500,000 and P1.5 million, respectively.

Mr. Dolosa, of course, knew how intense the competition was after he won his two Tour crowns and the P500,000 — the biggest prize in the history of the annual summer spectacle back then — that went with a brand new car.

Arrey Perez, chief organizer and chief executive officer, agrees.

“Expect the battle for victory to rage on until the checkered flag waves,” he said. “With the peloton neck-and-neck, every pedal stroke counts, and only the strongest will claim the top spot.”

“The race is expected to be tight and exciting to the very end,” he added.

The third-placed rider gets P400,000; fourth P300,000; fifth P250,000; sixth P200,000, seventh 175,000; eighth P150,000; ninth P125,000; and 10th 100,000 while team prize breakdown for third to 10th place are pegged at P1,000,000, P500,000, 400,000, P300,000, 250,000, P200,000, P150,000 and P100,000, respectively.

Other prize breakdowns were P350,000 for the Eagle of the Mountain (polka dot jersey wearer), P300,000 for Sprint King (green), P200,000 for Best Young or Under-23 Rider (white), P10,000 for stage winner (violet), P3,000 for Most Combative (red) for 11 selected stages and P15,000 each stage for the leader’s or yellow jersey wearer. — Joey Villar