In September 2020, Sean McFadden, ex-top Irish cyclist and triathlete and now a fitness coach in Dubai saw Lance’s pure talent and has tirelessly supported him since. Sean ensures Lance gets on the best team and gets the best support he needs to make his dream come true. Sean paved the way and established the connection and relationship with a renowned World Tour Professional Cycling Team who started to coach and support Lance earlier this year from his nutrition plan to his training program. You maybe ask yourself, why a report about this young talented cyclist? Sean asked me a few months ago if I could help with a request of young Lance to get him a team in Europe, which I did with a feature of this talented young man…one lead to another and a positive outcome in the end…I normally report and promote Irish cyclists, but as Sean and myself have a long friendship in cycling and became a “sponsor in-kind” with his beloved Donegal “Atlantic Way Ultra 555km” event, I made it an exception as it is a bit Irish with Sean, and if it helps a young man in his career…why not!
Lance is a Philippine national who was brought up by his parents in the UAE. His father, who is also a road cyclist and has been in the cycling industry for 15 years, inspired him to delve into the sport. Lance standing at 1.67m tall and 51kg in weight is predominantly a climber but does well in flats and time trials. He began cycling at the age of four and started competing at 14 when the UAE Al Nasr Cycling Club under Coaches Khelil Hadad and Abdelkader Rahmani offered him to be part of the team. From then on, Lance became no stranger to the UAE cycling scene. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a frustrating year in 2020 for Lance up to the 1st half of 2021 with no races and being unable to travel. This however did not stop Lance from continuing to train indoor utilizing ZWIFT whilst waiting for a European country to open its doors for tourists again. On 7 June 2021, Spain announced that it would be welcoming back its international travelers. Lance was ecstatic as he officially signed a contract for BATHCO Cycling Team affiliated with the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation based in Los Corrales De Buelna. Lance’s main objective is to get some good junior racing to see how he stacks up against one of the best junior cyclists in Spain.
The Bathco Junior cycling team is renowned for their development of youth…they have Spanish Champions on board, stage race specialists, and enter all the top races for juniors in Spain …to follow >> https://twitter.com/bathcoteam <<
Lance has 26 race wins under his belt and has been on the podium 40 times overall, with most wins coming from solo breakaways. His most impressive win was on 2 April 2021, winning one of the biggest amateur races in the UAE, the Spinneys Dubai 92 Men’s Elite Race. Lance went solo on the last 50 kilometers to the finish line racing against one of the best elite cyclists in the UAE. As a 1st year junior this makes him the youngest ever winner of this famous race. Lance also has his eyes set on the Irish racing scene, stating that most of the best juniors in the world come from Ireland. He is eager to head over to Ireland after Spain and do as much racing as possible this year. His goals are not only to get good racing experience, but also to get good results. Lance will also be representing Philippines in the UCI Men’s Junior World Championships on both Road and Individual Time Trial in September. A very passionate, intelligent, disciplined and good-hearted young junior cyclist, Lance hopes to enter the World Tour peloton one day and make his Filipino countrymen proud. Lance has been under the eye of Coach Reece McDonald from Science2Sport. They have been working together in the past few months to make sure Lance is in good condition when he heads over to Europe.
In the past 3 years, many people have helped Lance throughout his journey with consolidated hopes that he continues until his dream is within his grasp. These people are instrumental to Lance and he will always be forever grateful:
His family and relatives; Sean McFadden and his family; H.H Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan and Saif Khalfan; Dominic Ford; TREK team with Faisal Almarri and Desmon Myburgh; His Filipino mentors – Jan Kim Nasino, Jay Tolentino, and Rhyan Tanguilig; Joseph Abello Dexter; Albert Primero; Micheal Primero; Salvatus Kron Joshua; Coach Danny Cordero; Al Nasr Club Team with Coach Khelil Hadad, Coach Abdelkader Rahmani, and Rahees; Bro. Lito Dela Cruz; Hamad Alsabri, Ahmad Al Mutaiwei, Ayoub Alali and Amer Aldahmani; and for everyone else who believes in him. (July 2021)
