Philippine arts

Australian takes crash-marred Le Tour de Filipinas opener

Myke Miravite

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

Australia's youngster Eric Timothy Sheppard charges into the top-spot of the crash-marred Le Tour 2014 day 1

LE TOUR OPENER. Racers during first day of Le Tour 2014. Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines – With all the attention given to perennial superpower Iran, Australian youngster Eric Timothy Sheppard stole the show as he charged into the top spot in the accident-marred 2014 Le Tour de Filipinas opening stage, Monday, April 21, in Olongapo City in Zambales.

The OCBC Singapore Cycling Team standout finished the 160-kilometer stage from Clark Field in Pampanga to the Zambales capital as he surged ahead of the pack right from the 100-kilometer mark of the race until the finish line in Rizal Street.

Sheppard clocked in 4:03:52 – more than two minutes ahead of the five-man chase group – after he owned the Bataan-section of the stage and separated himself from the rest of the pack after the first King of the Mountain sector.

The Australian, who lurked behind the leaders in the flatlands, put on a determined solo show as he grabbed the yellow jersey to gain momentum approaching the long grind on Tuesday’s 175.5-kilometer Olongapo-Cabanatuan route.

Yousif Mirza Alhammadi of the United Arab Emirates national team finished second at 4:06:32, closely sparing himself from a crash just a bike’s length behind him that ended third-placer Soon Yeong Kwon’s 2014 Le Tour campaign.

Crash-marred finish

The Korean phenom of KSPO Continental Team saw his strong third place stage finish, two of the day’s three King of the Mountain plums, and the best young rider recognition wasted after he rammed into a couple of photographers in the brake zone during his attempt to overtake Alhammadi in the last stretch of the race in front of thousands of spectators along the home stretch.

Kwon, who took Stage 1’s Polka dot and White Jerseys, sustained injuries to the head after he struck two photographers – Rappler’s Josh Albelda and Business Mirror’s Alyssa Salen – after trying to outrun his Emirati counterpart for the second spot.

Rappler photographer Josh Albelda is tended to by paramedics after being involved in a crash near the Stage One finish line

The three were immediately brought to the Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center in SBMA to receive treatment.

As of Monday evening, the Korean and both photographers are conscious but Kwon and Albelda are closely monitored as they underwent CT Scan for their injuries to the head. Salen, meanwhile, already had an operation in her fractured collarbone and is expected to be confined in the hospital for a few more days.

Foreigners show force in Day 1

Completing the top six, which are also included in the chase group, are CCN Cycling Team’s New Zealand native Van Uden Roman, Sheppard’s teammate Chun Huat Goh, and Iranian Khalil Khorshid.

The foreign bets in the chase group were simply formidable in the 57.4-kilometer long Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex) section of the race and earned themselves enough cushion towards the punishing uphill climbs in the towns of Bagac and Morong in Bataan province.

Only one Filipino finished in the top 10 as 7-Eleven Roadbike’s Mark Julius Bordeos, who trailed Kwon in the best young riders race, copped ninth place with a time of 4:08:02.

Still missing in action?

Wrapping up the top ten are OCBC Singapore’s Brendon Meney at seventh (4:06:35), Alireza Asgharzadeh of Tabriz at eighth (4:06:35) and CCN’s Hari Fitrianto at tenth (4:08:02).

Veteran local star Lloyd Reynante (Philippine Navy Standard) and Felipe Marcelo (7-Eleven Roadbike) follow Bordeos as the next Filipino finishers but their time of 4:10:53 was only good for 17th and 18th place.

2012 Le Tour de Filipinas winner Baler Ravina, was likewise absent on the honor roll as he finished a measly 33rd place.

Even in sprints and climbs sectors, foreigners outwitted Filipino bets as Alhammadi is set to wear the Green jersey on Tuesday while Kwon and Sheppard took two jerseys apiece.

In the team category, OCBC claims the top spot at 12:11:17 followed by Tabriz, CCN, KSPO, and 7-Eleven. – 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!