MANILA, Philippines — National riders will have a good chance of making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by earning qualifying points as Pru Life UK on Thursday (28 November 2019) launched another edition of PRURide PH, the country’s biggest cycling festival.

Ian Alacar, PRURide race organizers, said they scheduled the race as early as March next year to give the national riders a good chance of earning Olympic qualifying points and make it to the Tokyo Games which will be held July.

“Fully loaded na ang calendar ng UCI next year pero naisingit natin ito para sa mga national riders natin to let them earn the needed points to qualify to the Olympics,” said Alacar.

In 2020, Pru Life UK is bringing its high-octane races to Clark, Pampanga particularly from March 11 to 15.

Next year’s edition is expected to welcome more than 2,500 cyclists, including 18 local and international professional teams, who will race in 10 categories.

“We are excited to launch PRURide PH 2020 after the success of our first three editions. Since becoming UCI 2.2 accredited in 2019, PRURide PH is expected to grow bigger and become more exciting,” shared Senior Vice President and Chief Costumer Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga.

“It is now a five-day marquee event featuring recurring cycling activities made more thrilling with the addition of new routes in Clark and Tarlac. With these, we aim to offer the best PRURide PH yet to our recreational and professional cyclists from the Philippines and Asia,” said Tumbaga.

Competing participants can join the Virtual PRURide, and PRURide Criterium which feature races, including Fixed gear, road bike, and mountain bike races.

Meanwhile, non-competitive rides such as the Gran Fondo is perfect for families, beginners and hobbyists, while the Striders Cup is for children aged two to six, who will race using non-pedal bikes.

The event next year will also include the Fun Cycle, a new cycling activity meant for PR Life UK agents and employees.

Another highlight of the event will be the PRURide UCI 2.2 Stage Races, a three-day race accredited by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UIC), the world’s governing body for cycling, which will allow cyclist to chalk up points to advance to bigger international competitions particularly the coming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

It will be PRURide’s second year to be included in the UCI World Calendar.

The festival will also usher the return of PRURide PH’s celebrity ambassadors, Gretchen Ho, Kim Atienza and Zoren Legaspi. (AO/IAMIGO/CNS)