THE biggest cash pot in Philippine cycling history — P12 million — will be up for grabs in the 2026 MPTC Tour of Luzon (ToL), set to kick off on April 29 at CaSoBe in Calatagan, Batangas.
The rider wearing the yellow jersey at the end of the 14-stage race will bring home P1 million, while the champion team will pocket P2 million.
“Expect the battle for victory to rage on until the checkered flag waves,” said Arrey Perez, chief organizer and CEO of the Tour, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026. “With the peloton neck-and-neck, every pedal stroke counts, and only the strongest will claim the top spot.”
“The race is expected to be tight and exciting to the very end,” he added. “Get ready for a heart-stopping, adrenaline-fueled ride!”
The runner-up in the general classification (individual race) will get P500,000, while the second placer in the team event will receive P1.5 million.
“The goal is to be the champions — individual and team — because getting second place are miles and miles behind [in terms of cash prizes],” Perez said.
The total pot and champion’s purse are the biggest in the Tour that had its humble yet historic beginnings in the Manila-Vigan Race in 1954. The richest prior edition was the 1995 race, where Renato Dolosa won the second of his two trophies along with P500,000 and a brand new car.
“Surely this Tour of Luzon will be a battle,” said Dolosa, now a road race commissaire. “Look at the difference in prizes between the champion and the runner-up. That’s a lot to fight for to the end.”
Dolosa went down in Tour history as a champion who didn’t win any stage in the 1992 Marlboro Tour and won only one stage — Cabanatuan City to Santiago City (Isabela) — in 1995.
The Marlboro Tour went on to hike the prize money to P500,000 for the individual champion in its last three years from 1996 to 1998. After that the champion also got P500,000 in the summer sports spectacle’s Alberto Lina era.
The pot hit P1 million in the inaugural edition of the Ronda Pilipinas.
The third-placed rider after 14 stages gets P400,000; fourth P300,000; fifth P250,000; sixth P200,000, seventh P175,000; eighth P150,000; ninth P125,000; and 10th P100,000.
The team prizes from third to 10th place are pegged at: P1,000,000; P500,000; 400,000, P300,000; 250,000;, P200,000; P150,000; P150,000; and P100,000.
The Eagle of the Mountain — the climber with the most King of the Mountain (Polka Dot) points — will clinch P350,000. The Sprint King (Green) will receive P300,000, and the Best Young Rider (White, under-23) will get P200,000.
The Stage Winner (Purple) will be rewarded P10,000 per stage. The Most Combative (Red) will receive P3,000 for each of the 11 stages, while the Yellow jersey is worth P15,000 each day.
The race — composed of 14 stages from Calatagan to Baguio City — is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, MVP Group and title sponsor MPTC, and raced under International Cycling Union regulations through sanctioning national federation PhilCyling. / PR