Bleachers are being put up along a portion of the route for this year’s Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines. The bleachers will give spectators a better view to watch celebrities such as Matteo Guidicelli and Piolo Pascual compete. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
If fans want to catch a glimpse of celebrities participating in the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines this Aug. 3, they’d better have a good spot along the race route.
Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI), the organizing team behind the international triathlon event, is helping spectators get a good view of the race as it is putting up bleachers near the transition area of the swim and bike leg at the Mactan Newtown, formerly the Portofino Beach Resort.
The bleachers can accommodate around a thousand spectators, giving all of them an equal chance of seeing the participants, especially Filipino celebrities such as Piolo Pascual, Mateo Guidicelli, Kim Atienza and Ryan Agoncillo.
Aside from the bleachers, SEI will also put up food kiosks for the spectators.
The prestigious race is being held in Cebu for the third straight year. It will once again be a 1.9-kilometer swim, 90k bike and 21k run course for around 2,500 triathletes. More importantly, the race is an official qualifier for the Cona, Hawaii World Championships of Ironman.
The starting and finish line will be at the posh Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa.
Meanwhile, SEI published its official traffic advisory in its Facebook page yesterday. An official parking lot map is also posted there.
The advisory showed the roads that will be closed during race day.
Lapu-Lapu City’s closed roads will be Kabesang Tasyo Road to ML Quezon National Highway all the way to the junction of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. These roads will be closed from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In Mandaue City, all vehicles bound to northern Cebu will have to take Lopez Jaena Street, MC Briones St. and UN Avenue for the duration of the race from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vehicles bound for Lapu-Lapu City and Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) will follow the same route.
Cebu City’s closed roads will be the S. Osmeña Road, the South Road Properties (SRP) tunnel and the South Coastal Road.
In Talisay City, roads inside the SRP will be closed also from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. while the intersecting road in barangay Laray (Gaisano SRP) will be open.