By Arman Armero

SPURRED by the success of Le Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, now on its 14th year, the organizers of the region?s toughest cycling spectacle are planning to extend the Tour to include its neighbors in the Southeast Asian region.

If plans push through, the expanded Tour will be known as the Asean Tour, an inter-country cycling tournament featuring the best cycling talents in the region and offering millions of cash prizes to the winners.

Le Tour de Langkawi chief operating officer Datu Naim Mohamad said the plan appears to be feasible in the short term, starting with a three-country swing involving Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

?We have actually started brainstorming on this since last year and I think it could happen sooner than we think. We plan to initially hold a tournament among three countries, and slowly add the other countries in the region, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Borneo and the Philippines.

But Datu Mohamad himself admitted that the current economic downturn affecting practically the entire world may slow down their projection.

?The economic situation is not good right now, but if we can get some good sponsors and a television network that will take care of the broadcast aspect, I think we can accomplish this in the long run.?

The first step, according to Datu Mohamad, is to get the respective heads of the national associations of cycling to agree on the common goal.