Cycling: Dutch cycling team Global first foreign squad to arrive

The Netherlands' Global Cycling Team flew in Tuesday morning to become the early bird among 12 foreign squads seeing action in the 2012 Le Tour de Filipinas that starts this Saturday. Dynamic Outsource Solutions, Inc. (DOS-1), Le Tour's organizer, president Gary Cayton said the Dutch team wants to acclimatize themselves. "We are all aware how hot it is up north that's why the foreigners would want to adopt to the weather," said Cayton. Cagayan province's temperature reached 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and the condition is expected to remain in the higher 30s during the four-day race. Cayton added that the Dutch club team was also the first among foreign squads to show its intention to join the four-stage race. Continental teams CCN—also from the Netherlands—Japan's Aisan Racing Team, Singapore's OCBC, Uzbekistan's Suren, Chinese Taipei's Action and the vaunted TPT or Tabriz Petrochemical from Iran are the other foreign squads that will be arriving on Wednesday and Thursday. Australia's Plan B, New Zealand's Pure Black and Indonesia's Colossi Miche are the club teams. Indonesia's national team is also competing in the 2012 Le Tour, which is on the International Cycling Union's (Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI) Asia Tour calendar. Chinese Taipei-based continental team Giant Kenda pulled out at the last minute. Go21, Mail and More, Smart-PhilCycling National Team, American Vinyl/LPGMA and Kia are the local teams. Saturday's Stage One of the Le Tour is a 155-kilometer ride from Sta. Ana, Cagayan to Tuguegarao City. Cyclists will then negotiate a 110-km distance from Tuguegarao to Cauayan City. Stage Three will be 102 kms from Cauayan City to Bayombong City and Stage Four will be the 153-km climb on the so-called "Northern Alps" in the Cordilleras from Bayombong to Burnham Park in Baguio City. — JVP, GMA News