Iloilo is set to host the GFNY Asian Championship on September 22. About 300 cyclists across the Philippines and from 15 nations are expected to participate in the international race.
The competitive long-distance course is 133km and has 650 meters of climbing. There is also a non-competitive middle distance course covering 64km and 220 meters of climbing.
“We’re positioning Iloilo as the Bike Capital of the Philippines and we’re targeting 300 to 400 cyclists as it’s the best case in this situation,” Arch. Wilfredo Sy, founder of Fitstop said. “Granting its success, we’re pushing for a bigger race next year with more or less 1,000 cyclists,” Sy continued.
Arch. Sy was recognized for promoting biking as transportations and for organizing bike tours and putting up the first bike cafe in the city.
Meanwhile, Councilor Jay Treñas III, executive director of Iloilo Bike Council, added that Iloilo pushes to earn the title by 2024. He said bike festivals and competitions in the city have fast-tracked this ambition.
“I’m very positive that after GFNY, Iloilo City will be the Bike Capital of the country,” he stated. Treñas was recognized for sponsoring bike-related ordinances and for being the biking community’s champion in the City Council.
Junel Ann Divinagracia, City Tourism and Development Officer, echoed Iloilo’s goal of being the premier bike capital. “We really welcome this event in September, as we would also like to feature our destinations in the city.”
This is not the first time GFNY held an event in the Philippines. Bohol was the first city to hold the cycling competition last January 27. Atty. Sedfrey Cabaluna, Department of Tourism (DOT) VI, mentioned that there were other races held across Western Visayas.
“This event is not only in-line with the approach of the sports-tourism profile of the city and region, but more importantly with advocacy of the Department of Tourism to promote sustainable tourism,” Cabaluna said.
He further added that a lot of tourism activities are a cause of concern lately, because of its impact on the community and environment.
“If we get to engage or bring activities like these in the region, it falls right in place to what we want to do,” Cabaluna mentioned. “There’s a need to balance tourism, people, profit, and the planet. Bike tourism or sports tourism contributes not only to arrivals, tourists’ visits, or to the local economy, but more importantly, developing a culture or habit that’s needed by our people,” he added.
For GFNY Iloilo, the organizers have coordinated with 14 municipalities – from Iloilo City to Passi City. Cyclists and revelers will expect closed roads or police moderated traffic with right of way at all intersections, live-streamed of the bike race, and chip timing results and rankings based on the full start-to-finish course.
The race also serves as a send-off to male and female winners to compete in the GFNY NYC World Championship next May 17, 2020. Twenty percent of finishers in each age group in the long route will be earning a coveted start seeding in the GFNY Qualifier Corral for 380 days, including at the 2020 Campagnolo GFNY World Championship in NYC on May 17th.
