This year’s edition of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 may well be the most important for the City of Lapu-Lapu.
Under the city’s contract with Sunrise Events, Philippine organizer of the popular triathlon franchise, the 2014 edition is the third of three IM 70.3 events that Lapu-Lapu City (LLC) is supposed to host.
It does not necessarily have to be the last though, if LLC is able to convince Sunrise to stay on for three more years before moving on to another location for the IM 70.3.
I’m guessing that Bohol, Puerto Princesa and Subic would love to bid for the hosting of Cobra Ironman 70.3.
However, LLC enjoys a great advantage over the other potential host cities following its superb hosting of the 2012 and 2013 editions of IM 70.3. Sunrise events also saw the biggest growth in the number of IM 70.3 participants in the last two years, this year being the biggest at 2,500 triathletes.
When it started in 2009 in Camarines Sur, Cobra Ironman only had 500 plus participants. Organizers credit this exponential growth to Cebu’s central location, accessibility and reputation as a top tourist destination in the Philippines offering the best of both worlds — white sandy beaches and metropolitan cities.
I hope LLC, which has recently launched its tourism campaign brand as the “Historic Resort City,” gets another three more years as host.
Although the Cobra Ironman 70.3 events are primarily concentrated in Lapu-Lapu, it’s the whole of Metro Cebu that benefits from this hosting gig in the form of tourism revenue.
For local residents, the benefit that is most immediately felt is the instant improvement of infrastructure along the race route with the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu making emergency road repairs along the bike course.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
