Quitoy rules Ronda Stage 10 using P100K borrowed bike

TAGAYTAY CITY – Mindanao's Roel Quitoy nearly quit after he broke his bike in the Angeles-Subic Stage Three more than two weeks ago. And then a Good Samaritan showed up and lent him a bike.

Using that same bike, Quitoy raced his way to his very first lap victory by edging overall leader Jan Paul Morales of Navy-Standard Insurance in Stage 10 of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas that unfolded and ended in front of the Tagaytay Convention Center here Monday.

Quitoy, 25, clocked three hours, 25 minutes and 29 seconds to claim his first ever stage triumph and his biggest paycheck worth P20,000.

He didn't waste time thanking his benefactor.

"I will not be here right now without sir Paul Tan. He lent me his bike when my bike broke down," said Quitoy, a proud son of Zamboanga City whose father Romeo is a former Tour participant back in the days, in Filipino.

Unlike his P12,000-worth aluminum old bike, which was a little heavier and uses mountain bike gears, this new one was worth about a P100,000 and is made from carbon and lighter, allowing the reed-thin bike mechanic to race faster.

Quitoy showed incredible sprint and climbing skills, towing the chase group that included Morales and then breaking loose with the latter in the ascent in Sampaloc in Batangas to get the lap win.

The 31-year-old Morales, riding the crest of his Stage Nine criterium win in Sta. Rosa, Laguna the day before, had a chance to snatch his fifth lap triumph but decided in the last minute to settle for second in 33:30:50 and allow Quitoy his big moment.

"He worked hard down in Batangas and was with me in the climb and he deserves this win," said Morales of Quitoy. "I hope he gets inspired by this and become an inspiration to the younger riders also when he gets older."

Kinetix Lab-Army's Ronnilan Quita wound up at third while Navy's Jay Lampawog finished at fourth with same times of 3:26:50.

Navy's Rudy Roque, the leader for seven stages before Morales supplanted him in Stage Eight in Daet, Camarines Norte, was at No. 5 while Kinetix Lab-Army's Marvin Tapic and Cris Joven, Navy's Lloyd Lucien Reynante and Joel Calderon and Ilocos Sur's Jheffson Sotto comprised the top 10 with 3:27:49.

Morales, who is already assured of at least P100,000 thanks to his four stage triumphs and a pair of second place performances, fortified his grip of No. 1 with with 33:26:24, or a whopping 4.26 minutes ahead of Roque, who has 33:30:50.

Joven has climbed from No. 5 to No. 3 with 33:34:39 but he was a whopping 8.15 minutes off the pace while Lampawog has made a significant leap from No. 10 to No. 4 with 33:37:48 that pushed Go for Gold's Jonel Carcueva from No. 4 to No. 5 with 33:38:40.

Navy's Daniel Ven Carino and Quita also barged into the top 10 for their strong stage efforts as the two are now in Nos. 9 and 10 with 33:42:51 and 33:45:29, respectively.

Go for Gold's Bryant Sepnio (33:39:09), RC Cola-NCR's Leonel Dimaano (33:39:28) and Ilocos Sur's Ryan Serapio (33:41:39) were at Nos. 6, 7 and 8.

Thanks to Morales, Navy kept its stranglehold of the team race with a total clocking of 134:59:29, or a whopping 47.07-minute lead over closest pursuer Kinetix Lab-Army with 135:46:37.

Go for Gold is at No. 3 with 137:14:12.

The 19-year-old Lampawog's fourth place effort in this lap allowed him to snatch the lead in the best young rider's race from Carcueva.

Morales will continue to wear the red LBC jersey in today's 140-km race where riders will be flagged off in Calamba, Laguna and will finish in Antipolo City.

Ronda is staking P1 million to the champion courtesy of presentor LBC and in partnership with MVP Sports Foundation, Petron, Mitsubishi, Versa.ph, Partas, Maynilad, Standard Insurance, CCN, Bike Xtreme, NLEX, PhilCycling and 3Q Sports Event Management.