By Jerome Lagunzad
Grizzled rider Lucien Lloyd Reynante is set to come out of his brief retirement as he takes up the cudgels as the playing coach of Team Bike Xtreme PH in the 9th Le Tour de Filipinas which hits the roads next month.
Reynante, 40, admitted he’s far from his tip-top shape since he’s been out of the competitive play for over a year.
But that won’t stop him from doing his fair share of keeping the sport relevant to many.
“Kaya lang ako maglalaro para maging inspirasyon sa mga bata at ma-encourage na rin sila na tuluy-tuloy lang ang pagkarera hanggat kaya,” he told Tempo-Bulletin in a recent interview. “I also want to teach them the techniques kasi hindi naman puro lakas ang kailangan sa karera.”
A bridesmaid finisher to Irish star David McCann in the 2010 edition, Reynante disclosed that he’s set to team up with fellow veteran Cris Joven, Jemico Brioso, Michael Farre and Michael Ochoa in carrying the colors of Team Bike Xtreme, one of six local squads in the 16-team field.
Also set to vie for supremacy is continental team 7-Eleven RoadBike Philippines, which is coming off an impressive showing in the recent Tour de Langkawi as the third best team among Asian-based protagonists.
The four-day cycling spectacle, the only local race sanctioned by the Union Cycliste International in the country, is set from May 20 to 23 and will pass through the so-called “Cradle of Philippine cycling” up to the mountain-top city of Baguio.
