Pampanga has its own place in the story of the Philippine tours. Riders from Angeles City and Mabalacat raced the Tour of Luzon and the Marlboro Tour, and the national tour still comes through Clark.
This guide sets down what the public record supports. It is shorter than the real story, and we hope readers will help us add to it.
The riders of Angeles City
In March 2024 Angeles City honored its cyclists at the Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Bikefest in Barangay Sto. Cristo. The event was titled “A Tribute to Siklistang Angeleño”. The Voice Newsweekly called the honorees the “legendary cyclists of Angeles City”.
The professionals named were Nicanor Nicdao, Silbestre Compio, Eduardo Compio, Oscar Modesto, Roel Tan, Julie Carbungco, Rogelio De Guzman, Jerry Lumba, Jheffson Sotto, Paulino Punzalan and Jayson Cabrera. The paper wrote that they had “at one time or another joined professional cycling tournaments such as the Marlboro Tour”.
Six amateur riders were honored with them: Ramon Dinio, Edilberto Catli, Diosdado Paras, Ramon S. Dizon, Jerry Villanueva and Reynaldo Pingul.
Seven of those professionals are among the eight riders honored at Pedalan with the Tour Legends on December 27, 2026. We count the paper’s “Julie Carbungco” as the poster’s Julio Carbungco. Each has a page in our legends section.
Dau and Mabalacat
The eighth legend is Antonio Lim, a former Tour of Luzon cyclist. The revived Tour of Luzon posted an interview with him in April 2025 and called him one of the race’s legends.
In October 2026 the local news page Balacat News wrote about Mang Tony Lim of Barangay Dau, aged 76, a former Tour of Luzon cyclist who was not left behind in a local ride. Dau is a barangay of Mabalacat, next to Angeles City.
Teams and clubs
A magazine report from 1975 names some of the teams that raced in the province. Nicanor Nicdao and Ernesto Carlos rode for Max Shoes. Dau Roadrunners raced the same event, and the winner that day rode for Rizal Drug.
One tour rider is still close to the sport. In August 2026 Bikeworx Bike Shop described Jerry Lumba, who rode the 1996 Marlboro Tour, as its head mechanic.
The 1st Tour of Pampanga, 1975
The 1st Tour of Pampanga was held on October 18, 1975. It covered 155.06 kilometers and finished in Magalang.
The winner was Efren Castañeda of Rizal Drug, who was 16 years old. Nicanor Nicdao, then 33, was second and received 75 pesos and a trophy. His Max Shoes teammate Ernesto Carlos was third.
The report appeared in Sports Weekly Magazine for October 31 to November 7, 1975. It calls Nicdao a “Tour of Luzon veteran”. It also mentions a Bikefest ’75 that ran from Cabanatuan to Angeles.
We know this report from a transcription shared by the Philippine Cycling History group, which collects scans of old cycling magazines.
The national tour at Clark
In recent years the national tour has started and finished stages at Clark.
- 2014 Le Tour de Filipinas, Stage 1: Clark to Olongapo and Subic, on April 21.
- 2025 Tour of Luzon, Stage 4: Agoo to Clark, 162.97 kilometers.
- 2025 Tour of Luzon, Stage 5: Clark to Clark by way of New Clark City, 166.65 kilometers.
- 2025 Tour of Luzon, Stage 6: Clark to Lingayen, 168.19 kilometers.
- 2026 Tour of Luzon, Stage 2: a team time trial of 43.36 kilometers, from the Clark Development Corporation to the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.
Wikipedia’s account of the 2025 race gives the stage towns for Clark as Angeles City and Mabalacat.
Seoul Cycling Team won the 2026 team time trial in 56 minutes and 35 seconds. New Clark City is in Capas, Tarlac, so that stage began in Pampanga and ended in the next province.
What we are still looking for
We have not yet found route lists for the old Tour of Luzon and Marlboro Tour stages. Until we do, this page does not say which Pampanga towns those races passed through.
If you have a race program, a clipping or a photo that fills a gap, please get in touch. For the wider story, see our short history of the Philippine tours.