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CAUAYAN CITY, Philippines — In a course that took the riders through the heart of the scorching Cagayan Valley Region, Australian youngster Luke Parker of Perth Cycling Team will be entering Stage 3 tomorrow wearing the Green Jersey as he outsprinted everyone in a bunched finish in the second leg of 4th Le Tour De Filipinas that ended in Cauayan City, Isabela.
Despite being set off with a punctured tire in the midst of the heated race, Parker got just the right help from his teammates as they pulled off one of the most thrilling comebacks Le Tour has ever seen.
“The stage was very long, very hot but we managed to save our energy and my teammates looked after me perfectly,” said the 19-year-old sprinter who, together with 50 other riders, clocked in at 5:07:54 after 196 kilometers of mostly flatlands from Aparri, Cagayan to this city.
Just a bike’s length behind him was 2005 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist John Paul Morales of Philippine team Standard Insurance while Caleb Jones of Taiwanese continental team CCN copped the third position in a tightly-contested homestretch.
Late charge
It was an all-Filipino show in most of the race as two locals, Philippine Navy’s Daniel Asto and American Vinyl’s Chris Joven, together with Azerbaijani Samir Jabrayilov and Dutchman Thomas Rabou, led a four-man breakaway group that established a big gap from the pack early on. However, the peloton eventually caught up just 15 kilometers from the finish.
The seasoned rider Joven put on a blistering start as he blitzed his way through the punishing heat that the Filipinos are more familiar of and won the last four of the total five sprint sections of the leg until other riders slowly pulled through 150 kilometers into the race that saw uneven roads and even an on-going road rehab near the border of Cagayan and Isabela provinces.
Stage 1 winner Ki Suk Lee of CCN took the backseat today as he only finished 9th but he will remain the marked man in Stage 3 tomorrow as he retains the Yellow Jersey with a 13-second margin from General Classification 2nd placer Douglas Repacholi of Perth Cycling Team.
Iranian Continental Team Tabriz Petrochemical is still the team to beat as four of its players barged into the overall time top 10 with yesterday’s podium finisher Iranagh Ghader Mizbani in third place (15:00), Hossein Askari in fourth place (18.00), Hagh Amir Kolahdoz in 6th (48.00), and Saeid Safarzadeh in 7th (49.00). Taiwan’s CCN Cycling Team is in second place, 3:23 behind while Perth Cycling Team is in third, at 6:05. 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines is the best local squad placing a far fourth place, 20:53 behind.
The Filipinos, meanwhile, were still unable to snap out of a woeful showing yet as no local made it to the top 10 of the Overall Classification by time with the highest ranked Ronnel Hualda of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines occupying the 13th position, seven minutes and 16 seconds behind the leader while Lloyd Reynante, Joel Calderon, reigning champ Baler Ravina, and Mark John Galedo placed 16th, 17th, 19th, and 20th respectively.
The CCN standout Jones occupies the fifth berth (48:00), while Parker rises to 8th overall 3:26 behind Lee. Spaniard Edgar Nohales Nieto of Ireland-based Polygon Sweet Nice and Danish John Ebsen of Synergy Cycling Project rounds up the top 10 placing 9th and 10th respectively.
Title defense still possible?
The defending Le Tour champ Ravina could not break the top 10 in Stage 2 as the course still favored the sprinters that saw only a few gentle slopes approaching the town of Roxas in Isabela. The Pangasinan native, however, still sees light at the end of the tunnel as the race will take them through the 106-kilometers of uphill climbs between Cauayan City and Nueva Vizcaya capital Bayombong in Stage 3 tomorrow.
“Bukas magkakaalaman kaya kailangan pa rin namin bumanat lalo na sa akyatan,” said the 31-year-old veteran.
True enough, the race is still just in halfway mark as there will be almost 240 kilometers to go before Baguio City including the dreaded 132.7-km last stage, a rollercoaster ride through the Cordilleras between Bayombong and the Summer Capital two days from now. – Rappler.com
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