History
1955 – 1976: Tour of Luzon
In 1955, the Tour was launched as a four-stage race from Manila to Vigan race won by Antonio Arzala. But, a year later, the race was renamed as the Tour of Luzon and carried the name until 1976 (there was no tour held in 1968, 1970–1972).
The prominent riders included two-time Tour champions Cornelio Padilla, Jr. of Central Luzon and Jose Sumalde of Bicol. However, in 1977, a rift within the PCAP (see below) led to a split of two tours during the said year. However, according to the Padyak Pinoy website, the event organized by Geruncio Lacuesta is recognized on their official list. The tour's name ended by 1978 as Marlboro entered the scene.
1979 – 1998: Marlboro Tour
By 1979, Philip Morris became the official sponsor of the tour and the event was named as Marlboro Tour after its cigarette brand Marlboro, a name that is commonly familiar to ardent racers and fans. During these times, the tour expanded its routes, by including cities from Visayas in the leg, with the final laps regularly held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
From 1997-1998, the tour allowed riders from Asia to compete in the event and was sanctioned by the UCI. It also led to Wong Kam-po of Hong Kong to become the first non-Filipino to win the event in 1997, after overtaking 1996 winner Victor Espiritu for the lead in the latter stages.
The format used for the teams are based on provinces with the national team included in the race. It was also the same format when Asian riders participated in the event beginning in 1997.
In 1999, Marlboro backed out as sponsor following a trend of discouraging tobacco sponsorship of sports events. In 2000, a race under the name Millenium Tour was attempted to be held in May but was cancelled due to budgetary concerns and inability to meet the standards set by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). [1]
2002 – 2007: Revival
In 2002, the tour was revived after Airfreight 2100 of Bert Lina and Lito Alvarez financed the tour. [2] A four-leg race was held in late-May known as Tour of CALABARZON won by Santy Barnachea. A year later, the tour was renamed as Tour Pilipinas, and held a 17-leg race, the longest since 1998. The tour was won by Arnel Quirimit of Pangasinan.
Ryan Tanguilig won in 2004 in a 10-stage tour. In 2005, the tour was renamed as the Golden Tour 50 @ 05, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Tour. 1998 champion Warren Davadilla, who won the last edition of the Marlboro, was the champion. In 2006, several disputes within the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines led to a short eight stage event dubbed with the Padyak Pinoy name, won by Barnachea.
2009 – 2019: Le Tour de Filipinas
The Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions was held in 2009. [3] This race was later retroactively designated as the first Le Tour de Filipinas (LTdF) [4]
The first race to be actually be called as the Le Tour de Filipinas was the 2010 race. The event was also reincluded in the UCI Asia Tour. It was last included in the UCI calendar 12 years ago when it was still known as the Marlboro Tour. [5] [6] The Le Tour de Filipinas was still backed by Alberto Lina. [7]
The tour was held annually continuously until 2019. [7] The 2020 iteration considered by its organizers as the 11th LTdF was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8] [9] [10]
2025 – present: Return of the Tour of Luzon
The tour was returned in 2025 under its old name Tour of Luzon. The event dubbed as the The Great Revival will take place from April 24 to May 1, 2025. It is an eight-stage race starting from Laoag and ends in Baguio. [9]
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Antonio Arzala (PHI)
Jeroen Meijers (NED)
