Bayambang honors son Lacuesta with cycling race
BAYAMBANG—The 1st Atty. Gerry Lacuesta Memorial Cup Challenge, a cycling race in honor of the Father of Cycling in the Philippines, will be staged here on March 16 as part of the town’s 400th founding anniversary celebration.
Mayor Ricardo Camacho said the event is part of the campaign to promote the town’s quadricentennial festivity and to honor the man who founded the Tour of Luzon.
Lacuesta, who died in 1983, was born and lived in Barangay Hermnosa here.
“We would like to recognize his (Lacuesta’s) feat in cycling and we had coordinated with his family in the United States who promised to come home to join us in this celebration,” Camacho said.
The PUNCH columnist Jesus Garcia, director of the race, said the route will cover approximately 192 kilometers starting from this town to Malasiqui, Villasis, Carmen Rosales junction, Sto. Tomas, Alcala and Bautista, then back to Bayambang onwards to Camiling, San Clemente (Tarlac), Mangatarem, Urbiztondo, and Basista, then back again to Bayambang.
Garcia said the race is open to professional cyclists and elite amateur in the Philippines.
About 70 cyclists are expected to join the race, including champions from Pangasinan like Santy Barnachea of Umingan, Baler Ravina of Asingan, Ronald Oranza of Villasis, Joshua Cariňo of Mangaldan, as well as prominent cyclists like Mark Julius Bonzo, son of the late 1983 Marlboro Tour champion Romeo Bonzo of Sual, Mark Julius Bordeos from Laoac, Edmundo Nicolas and Alfie Catalanboth of San Manuel are joining the race as well as other potential cyclists from other areas like Irish Valenzuela of Tabaco, Albay and Mark Galido from Metro Manila.
“This should be our number one sports in Pangasinan because we excel in it and we have 15 national tour champions from this province in 20 national tour crowns,” Garcia said.
“We are doing this cycling race here in honor of Lacuesta,” he added.
To promote the event, the town will host Bayam Bike , a 12-kilometer race on Feb 23 to be participated in by barangay officials from 77 barangays and town employees.—Tita Roces
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