Saturday, October 13, 2007 2 Luzon cyclists take over lead
TWO Luzon cyclists took advantage of bad road conditions to top the Omega Pain Killer Tour of Cebu Stage 2, which ended in Toledo City yesterday.
Emilito Atilano of team Pangasinan and Michael Reyes of Nueva Vizcaya team outclassed the locals after finishing the 106-kilometer race from Daanbantayan to Toledo City in the top two slots.
Danao City's Niño Surban prevented a shutout for the Cebuanos in this leg of the five-day race as he came in at third place.
The route from Daanbantayan, which traversed the southeastern part of Cebu going through San Remegio, Tabuelan, Asturias and Balamban proved to be a challenge for the racers.
Unprepared
Most racers seemed to be unprepared for the rough roads that greeted them that it claimed 15 racers, who went down one after the other in a heap. The road and other technical difficulties racers went through before entering San Remegio, caused serious delay for the racers.
Suffering a major blow in that incident were Padyak Pinoy runner-up Baler Ravina, who suffered another accident, following a broken chain mishap the other day, and Stage 1 leaders Albert Basirgo and Nilo Barbalose of Cebu Province. They two were slowed down because they had to replace flat tires more than once.
With the crash, many racers fell behind, allowing a small pack to overtake them. It was actually Emil Pablo who led after the crash, when he built a steady thirty-second advantage over chasers Atilano, Reyes and Roy Carbonera.
However, some 30 kilometers before the finish line, Pablo, battling a heavy downpour and fatigue, slowed down thinking it was almost the finish line. This was when the chase pack caught up with him.
After this, Atilano broke free and crossed the finish line uncontested, clocking in three hours, four minutes, 52.35 seconds. In the middle of this, Surban managed to close in on the chase pack but Reyes beat him to the finish line as he checked in next two minutes later with a time of 3: 06.56.68. Surban finished third with a time of 3:08.46.95.
Because of his exceptional finish Atilano will be wearing the yellow jersey as he currently tops the individual classifications with a combined time of 6:07.28.39 from the three races. Basirgo, who finished only at 11th place was still clinging at second place with a time of 6:09.47.08, while Surban maintained his third place bearing with a time of 6:11.08.74 holding just seconds worth of lead over RP mountain bike teammate Eusebio Quinones, Nueva Vizcaya's Carlos Nadyahan and defending tour champion Robert Villaber.
For finishing in the top two, Manila teams won the team classifications yesterday.
Pangasinan, whose other members include Ravina, registered a time of 9:28.41.95, while Nueva Vizcaya is at second with 9:30.46.28, while Danao was at third with a time of 9:31.00.06. Danao, however, still leads in the over-all team classification.
Today's stage will be the race's longest. It will cover a total distance of 169.9 kilometers, covering the towns in between Toledo and Dalaguete. (MCB)
