American Triathlete Bree Wee during the Cobra Ironman 70.3 last 2012 (CDN FILE PHOTO/CHOY ROMANO)
Organizers have shortened the bicycle route in Cebu City for the August 3 Cobra Iron Man triathlon to avoid an ongoing road concreting project along S. Osmena Road.
Instead of passing through the road four times, the route was extended in Talisay city, said Citom office head Rafael Yap.
With 2,500 athletes from around the world coming for Cebu’s biggest international sports event, the top concern for now is traffic arising from road blocks and the need to prepare smooth, safe, glitch-free road surfaces.
Athletes will swim 1.9 kilometers in the waters of Mactan, then cycle 90 kilometers and run a 21-kilometer marathon.
“We know the main concern last year was all about the traffic,” said Cebu provincial administrator Mark Tolentino in yesterday’s media briefing of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines.
“Our main objective this year is how to solve this problem.”
“We ask the public to be understanding about this one-day inconvenience for the race, which puts Cebu on the world map and boosts tourism,” he said.
“This also gives out local triathletes a chance to compete in an international triathlon without having to travel abroad.”
CLOSED TO TRAFFIC
The race routes will be closed to all traffic from 5 a.m. till the competition is over late afternoon of Aug. 3, Sunday.
This covers the road from Punta Engaño in Lapu-Lapu City to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge in Mandaue-Mactan, the North Reclamation Area in Cebu city and the South Coastal Road in Talisay City.
Maps of the race routes are posted online and published in local dailies to alert the public ahead of time about the possible road closures.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was advised to suspend concreting work on S. Osmeña Road during the race and for the private contractor to park their heavy equipment in their seaside depot.
Organizers scheduled a dry run on Sunday morning to inspect the race route and identify problem areas and what needs to be done.
“Our concern is the area from Pier 4 to the tunnel because the road surface is uneven there,” Yap told Cebu Daily News.
Asphalt conditions in this section, often used by big trucks and damaged by flooding , need leveling.
In the previous two years Cebu hosted the Ironman 70.3, bikers would pass by S. Osmeña Road four times and turn around at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City.
This year the loops will be focused between Talisay City and a turnaround point on Palma Street just after the SRP tunnel and increased to eight rounds.
This year, bikers would only be made to pass by the national highway two times.
When they bike through S. Osmeña Road heading to Talisay City they will use only one lane, facing the mountain side.
When they head back to Mandaue City bikers will be on the lane facing the sea.
Sunrise Events Inc., the private organizer of the triathlon, was represented in the briefing yesterday by Princess Galura and the race’s technical head Neville Manaois.
SEI is negotiating with Lapu-Lapu City, where the main venue of the competition is based in the Shangri-la Mactan resort, to extend hosting the Irionman 70.3 for another three years after its third stint next month.
More traffic advisories will be released a few days before the race.
Galura and Tolentino said more coordination meetings are being held with traffic agencies in the four metro cities to ensure a successful triathlon.
“We are hoping for patience ad courtesy from our fellow Cebuanos,” said Tolentino.
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