70 riders on Saipan to join Jazy Cup

Organizers are anticipating between 60-70 riders from Saipan to participate in the 8th Annual Jazy Cup Tour De Marianas this weekend.

This according to Ronald Villafria, who was designated by organizer Jazy Garcia to coordinate the Saipan stages of the race.

Included in that number will be most of the 40 members of the Saipan Cyclers.

Villafria said regular competitors from Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation would also be joining the race.

Garcia confirmed in an email message yesterday that there will be five to seven riders who will be arriving from Guam, including him and wife Mylene.

Bobby Mandapat, who placed second overall to 2008 champion Joseph Husslein, will also be coming for the race.

“I would like to race for fun only if the race organizers can do it on their own. It’s just for my training preparation for this coming end of month race in the Philippines. I would say maybe five or seven more riders are coming,” Garcia said.

However, he said that Husslein is not joining the Saipan stage because he is on his way to a business trip off-island.

Chiyo Lombard, the defending women’s overall champion, will also not be able to compete on Saipan because of work commitments.

“But for sure they will be joining the Guam stages that will be held on March 14 and 15,” Garcia said.

This year’s race is sponsored TakeCare.

Other businesses on Saipan sponsoring the tour include Hard Rock Café, DFS Galleria, Saipan Grand Hotel, LBT Appraisal, Foamacon Liner, Fiesta Resort and Spa, Saipan Shipping, BankPacific, Coco Restaurant, Tan Holdings Corp., Pacific Islands Club, Pacific Traders Insurance, and Auto Glass Pro.

Stage 1 will be the individual time trial on Saturday, Feb. 21, with cyclists covering a distance of 7.5 kilometers from the Marinas Country Club to the Suicide Cliff (Hill Top) for both male and female participants.

There will be six age-group categories to be contested in each of the three divisions—Expert Division, Novice Division, and Mountain Bike Division. These are Junior (17 and below), Open (18-29), Submaster (30-39), Master (40-49), Senior (50-59) and Grandmaster (60 and above).

Stage 2 will be the road race on Sunday, Feb. 22, with a distance of 67 km for the expert and 33.5 km for novice and mountain bike.
Stage 3 will be the road race on March 14 with the starting and finishing line to be located at the Ace Hardware Yigo via the main thoroughfares of Guam.

Competitors for the expert division will cover a distance of 76 km, while 52 km for the novice, and 26 km for the mountain bike.

Stage 4 will feature the road race on hills and flats on March 14 with the starting and finishing line to be located at the Agana Shopping Center.

The distance for the expert would be 60 km, while the novice and the mountain bike will be 34 km.

The proceeds will be for the benefit of the Jazy Garcia Sports Foundation.