Indonesian steals Le Tour de Filipinas third stage

Myke Miravite

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

With only 50 meters to go before the finish line, Pegasus Continental’s Patria Nostra sprinted his way from fourth place to the top spot

Third stage of Le Tour de Filipinas. Photo by Kevin dela Cruz/Rappler

BAYOMBONG, Philippines – With only 50 meters to go before the finish line, Pegasus Continental’s Patria Nostra sprinted his way from fourth place to the top spot as he stole the thunder in the 146.6-kilometer penultimate stage of the 2014 Le Tour de Filipinas that ended here, Wednesday, April 23.

The 24-year-old Indonesian sprinter was left unguarded as he made his move in the homestretch, gliding past Filipinos Baler Ravina and Lloyd Reynante and Mongolian Baasankhuu Myagmarsuren to claim the Cabanatuan-Bayombong stage in four hours, 12 minutes and 25 seconds. 

Atilla’s Myagmarsuren finished second while KSPO’s Dohyoung Kim placed third in a stage that was reset by heavy traffic just nine kilometers into the race.

Reynante of Philippine Navy and Team 7-Eleven’s Ravina copped the fourth and fifth positions respectively with the same clocking.

Slow start

After breezing through the neutral sector and the first few kilometers of the race in Cabanatuan, the racers faced heavy traffic just nine kilometers out in Talavera town that forced the race officials to neutralize the stage and reset the contest.

Some riders who made their way through the gridlock, however, took advantage of the delay and went on with the race even before the densely-populated route was cleared by the entourage.

The 2012 Le Tour de Filipinas winner Ravina, despite being stuck in the main peloton that was halted by the heavy buildup, put on a spirited comeback as he worked his way hard in the flatlands to gain the leadership approaching the steady climb about 50 kilometers into the race.

Ravina then displayed his strength in the punishing ascent as he made it first across the Nueva Ecija-Nueva Vizcaya boundary to claim the stage’s King of the Mountain plum.

Bunched finish 

The rest of the pack caught up with Ravina, though, as foreign cyclists gained momentum in the downhill portion between the towns of Sta. Fe and Aritao to erase the Filipino’s lead and enter the last 25 kilometers in a big lead group.

Just three seconds behind the top five in the lead pack is another Indonesian, Hari Fitrianto, and Saeid Safarzadeh who took the seventh spot.

Stage 2’s second placer Sungbaek Park copped eighth, Taiji Nishitani grabbed the ninth position and Mohammed Zamri Saleh completed the top 10 that finished in front of a 33-man peloton at 4:12:49.

Mission accomplished

Next to Ravina, Team 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines’ best finisher Mark Bordeos placed only 14th while yesterday’s podium finishers Chris Joven and Mark Galedo finished the race in the 30th and 32nd spot.

But for their team director and acting coach Ric Rodriguez, it was a job well done for his boys as they strategize for the final stage that will send the racers to the scenic but dangerous road between Bayombong and Baguio City.

“Their purpose today is to prevent the contenders from finishing well in this stage, decreasing their lead in the overall time in the process,” Rodriguez told reporters shortly after the race.

“We know them and we know their capabilities and weaknesses. Tomorrow, I expect our boys to overtake them in the Overall Classification.” 

After three stages, OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team tops the Overall Classification with a clocking of 37:52:18 but Team 7-Eleven – who cut their deficit from the leaders from almost seven minutes to a little over five minutes in Stage 3 – are not far behind at 37:57:45.

OCBC’s Choon Huat Goh retains the yellow jersey coming into the final stage but Stage 1 and 2 winners Eric Timothy Sheppard and Galedo are keen to take advantage of any mistake the Singaporean will commit in tomorrow’s tough 134-kilometer grind.

In the Best Young Rider category, Australian Brendon Meney and 7-Eleven’s Bordeos are in a tight battle for the overall Polkadot jersey while Park is in full control of the Green sprint king jersey.

Meanwhile, the Best Climbers Classification race pits Yousif Mirza Alhammady and Ravina who are separated by a solitary point with Reynante coming in at third, three points behind the leader. 

Final Battle

In the fourth and final stage of the tour, the cyclists will be in for a tough climb as the Bayombong-Baguio route will feature not only steep climbs that rise over 1600 meters from sea level but dangerous curves and downhill sectors across the “Northern Alps” of Cordillera. 

The race will conclude in the center of the Summer Capital at Burnham Park after snaking through the 134-kilometer long Baguio-Kayapa road that will also pass along the famed Ambuklao Dam in Benguet. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!