Mark Galedo and 7Eleven Cliqq-Air21 by Roadbike Philippines will make a much-awaited return, looking to reclaim their dominance in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 10th anniversary race unfolding February 23 in Sorsogon and concluding on March 4 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Galedo, 34, vows to go all-out to reclaim the title they last won in the second edition in 2012. He will spearhead a team that includes the equally-strong Marcelo Felipe and Rustom Lim in this 10-stage race awarding P1 million to the overall individual champion.
“We will do our best to try to win it,” said Galedo.
Galedo once lorded it over Philippines cycling, following up his 2012 Ronda conquest by copping the Southeast Asian Games gold the next year. He then reigned supreme in the 2014 Le Tour de Filipinas.
Galedo is actually on a comeback trail after battling various injuries the past few years. He also hopes this year will be a positive one in this race presented by LBC and sponsored by the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation.
“I’m feeling good and confident now, especially with the team that I have,” said Galedo, whose other teammates are Mervic Corpuz, Aidan James Mendoza, Nichol Pareja, Jhonrey Buccat, and Tomas Mojares.
Galedo will also have a score to settle against former tormentor Reimon Lapaza, who came out of nowhere to snatch the 2013 title out of the former’s grasp.
Lapaza, like Galedo, is also making a grand a comeback. He will race for Celeste Cycles PH-Devel Project Pro Team, and will try to relive the glory of 2013 when he snatched the crown going into the last two stages of the third edition of Ronda.
Galedo, however, stressed it is all in the past now.
“It’s part of the race. We’ll just try to focus on the present,” said Galedo.
Other teams seeing action are powerhouse Standard Insurance (Navy), Go for Gold, Scratch It, Bicycology (Army), Bike Xtreme, Tarlac/Central Luzon, Ilocos Sur, South Luzon/Batangas, and Nueva Ecija.
Versa, 8A Performance, Print2Go, Petron, Green Planet, Bike Xtreme, Standard Insurance, Spyder, CCN, Lightwater, Prolite, Guerciotti, Black Mamba, Boy Kanin, Vitamin Boost, NLEX/SCTEX, Maynilad, 3Q Sports Event Management Inc., LBC Foundation and PhilCycling are backing the race.
