We have just concluded the inaugural 200km Audax Isabela and 120km Bambanti Festival Populaire today. The inaugural Audax Isabela is a pre-registration ride for Paris Brest Paris 2027. Please check the below files for the tentative results and let us know by January 21 of any comments/questions so we can double-check from our end and do the necessary adjustments before we submit the results to Paris on January 22. You can reach us at info@audax.ph. Let us not spam the Facebook group/page of Audax Randonneurs Philippines. Please note that your result reflects your elapsed time = scanned time at the finish. It doesn't reflect the elapsed time in your Strava or GPS devices.
Tentative Results 120km Populaire Isabela.pdf
Tentative Results 200km Audax Isabela.pdf
The inauguaral Audax Isabela is part of the Bambanti Festival 2026 of Isabela Province: Reawakening the Beauty of Arts and Culture. The weeklong festival - named after scarecrows that protect the farms - has been attracting local and foreign tourists, thanks to the Filipino ingenuity in local arts and culture in the province. At the core of the festival is a showcase displaying an array of farm produce, handicrafts and other native products, aside from other highlights like street parades, dances, beauty pageants and other fun activities like the Audax! We wanted the first Audax in the province to be very memorable with a beautiful and very challenging cycling route from the provincial capitol in Ilagan City to the highest point in San Mariano down to Echague, a major agricultural center and then back to Ilagan.
The first 60km of the ride was very hilly. We have never seen so many people go down their bikes and push... nothing compared to Baler or even Antipolo. It was freezing at the top of the long climb but thanks to the LGU, the checkpoint in San Mariano was full of suman, bibingka, calamansi juice and other refreshments drinks. There were a few reported minor crashes on the descent but all have been attended to right away. The 200km record has been set by Francis Castillo from Team Isabela Province who clocked in an impressive time of 7 hours and 29 minutes.
The Bambanti Festival weekend is a fantastic way to learn something new about our country. It was refreshing to know about a new culture, have a taste of their culinary delicacies and experience the beautiful cycling that Isabela Province has to offer. The Audax Isabela is a success because of the genuine support of so many entities and individuals. We would like to thank the Province of Isabela, the Provincial Tourism Office, the PDRRMO Isabela, Governor Rodito Albano, Vice Governor Faustino "Kiko" Dy, the City of Ilagan and the municipalities of San Mariano, Naguilian and Echague. Our heartfelt thanks to Roxas Isabela Bikers (RIB) for manning all the checkpoints. When we announced the possibility of having an Audax in Isabela last year, Mr. James Austria of RIB told me that they are ready to serve the long-distance cycling community of the Philippines. RIB, the Isabela-based cycling club, has produced the first super randonneurs from the province and some of the most well-respected long-distance cyclists in the Philippines. Thank you to Kabalikat Civicom for the radio communication during the ride especially in San Mariano where there is zero cellular signal. Thank you to Mr. March "Lasaw" Aleonar for creating the very challenging but very memorable route! Thank you to my ever-dependable Audax crew and Ms. Ann Aleonar, who did a great job managing all the aspects of this ride from start to finish. Last but not the least, we would like to thank all the cyclists who came together this weekend from Benguet, Bulacan, Cagayan Valley, Cavite, Camarines Sur, Isabela, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Quezon, Quirino and Rizal. Thank you for joining us in Isabela, the Queen Province of the North!