Red Baron's 10-Miler this weekend

All is set for the next Red Baron 10-Miler (16km) individual time trial (ITT) this weekend. The same course will be on the menu with the start at km48, Catmon. The course then moves northward and makes a u-turn at km 56 with the finish back at km48. 

I think we have about ten editions of 10-milers since 2006 when Richard “Nob” Clarke, a Brit who married Filipina, initiated this new event with Architect Miguel Flores. Then, when Larry Stahlman (aka Red Baron) moved here from Kentucky as a consultant to Lexmark, he brought with him a few bikes for fitness. Then he heard of Nob’s 10-Miler, joined the race and decided to sponsor one event. And the rest is history. BTW, Larry is a 62yo grandpa who owns the best time on this course for the 50+ category with a time of 23.37 minutes.

The best time overall, in this non-pro event, is held by the 1986 Marlboro Tour Champion, Boy Pagnanawon, who clocked 23.07 minutes. It would be interesting to see if Sankx Ontanillas, Ome Rodriguez, Orlan Toring or Art Lambo can best the time set by the Pagnanawon. It will also be interesting if Jong Sepulveda, who will be racing in another category with Larry, (not that the good lawyer is as young as Larry…) will beat the man from the Bluegrass State, or better still, set a better time with his new ride, a COLNAGO! This would be pretty interesting! If you are interested to join, please go to www.cebucycling.com.

Lance Armstrong Updater

Lance arrived in Europe last week to prepare for the Giro d”Italia and the Tour de France. It has been Armstrong’s early season plan to recon what he thinks are decisive stages and train on the courses rather than go to a race to get fit like what other riders do. In Italy, he checked out the 62km ITT in the Giro which he called “wicked” and then later the prologue course of the TdF in Monaco.

Later this month, he will race for the first time with teammate and 2007 TdF champion Alberto Contador in a race in Spain called, “Tour of Castilla y Leon”. What’s interesting here is not whether who will win the race but how Armstrong and Contador, who both wants to win the same prize this July, will look at each other after the race- teammate or rival?

Contador is currently racing in the 7-day, Paris-Nice race, and is showing exceptional form this early. He has worn the leader’s jersey twice but also lost it twice going into the final stage tonight (yesterday evening). But the question is, isn’t he burning all of his candles this early?

Tour Elimination Postponed

Unfortunately, the supposed ”Elimination Road Race” for a national tour this summer that was schedule last weekend never came close to the starting line and was said to be postponed to another date. There were rumors that only less than 10 riders registered for the event, not the “hundreds” that was expected to join. But whatever the reasons, I would surmise that road repairs along the race route or the no-show of cyclists from Mindanao and foreign cyclists were not the cause of the postponement.

RACE RESULTS AT THE MANDAUE REKLA:

CAT B: 1. ROGER LASTIMOSO 2. BOBONG SIMBAJON 3. PHILLIP SAINZ 4. RICKY ERMITANIO 5. JEMAR ESTIL

CAT C2: 1. RALDY VIOS 2. RONALD NAVARRO 3. TATA TY 4. GARY FERNANDEZ 5. ROBEL DELICA- THE FREEMAN