Victor out to conquer unfamiliar territory

BUSAN — Cyclist Victor Espiritu will have to stay out of trouble in a course he’s so unfamiliar with when he competes in Thursday’s finals of the 169.4 km individual road race of the 14th Asian Games here.

The 26-year-old Espiritu, probably the best cyclist to come out of the Renato Dolosa-Carlo Guieb era, will be joined by countryman Merculio Ramos Jr. in the tough, demanding race that will cover the suburbs outside this port city.

Espiritu, whose lean, 5-foot-7 frame belies his strength on the road, won the bronze of the same event during the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and will face practically the same field vying for the Busan gold.

Wong Kam Po, a very popular sports figure in Hong Kong, won the race four years ago and will be a marked man Thursday, along with Indonesia’s Tonton Susanto, also a veteran of the Marlboro Tour.

A Japanese cyclist who won the silver in Bangkok is not around this time, but won’t really be missed since countrymen Junichi Shibuya and Shinri Suzuki are just as capable of pulling off a surprise.

Next to Wong and Susanto, another cyclist Espiritu must hold on to is Iran’s Ghader Mizbani Iranagh who came in from nowhere and almost won the Tour de Langkawi last year.

Then there’s the Koreans, the Kazakhs and the Chinese riders, too.

Espiritu, spending most of the day on his bike since arriving here with the main bulk of the RP delegation last Thursday, competed and finished seventh in the 50km individual time trial last three days ago.

Espiritu merely used that race, won by a rider from Kazakhstan, to gauge his strength against Wong, who crossed the finish line behind the Filipino.

On Thursday, he must stay close to his fellow favorites until the closing meters where it will truly be anybody’s race.

"Tiningnan ko lang silang mga makakalaban ko at okay naman na nauna ako kay Wong," said Espiritu. — Abac Cordero