LAOAG – The 2007 Padyak Pinoy summer showdown resumes today with former champion Arnel Quirimit vowing to stick it out with his chief rivals in Stage 6 that starts here and ends in San Fernando, La Union and then pour it all in the crucial Baguio climbs in the next two days.
“My plan is just to stick it out with the top riders. I will not make any risky move,” said Quirimit, refreshed and re-energized after a day’s rest, in Filipino.
The 2003 Tour champion ruled the long, draining 267-km Alaminos City-Vigan City stage Sunday to dislodge Stage 3 leader Victor Espiritu of Wow Magic Sing from the lead with an aggregate time of 13 hours and 24 minutes.
The 32-year-old Army sergeant said he’ll make his next move in the dreaded Baguio stages.
“The Baguio climb will be crucial,” said Quirimit. “It will either make or break my chances of winning my second Tour title.”
Espiritu, who won the 1996 Tour crown on his rookie year, and defending champion Santy Barnachea of Champion are currently in sixth and seventh places with 13:28’49 and 13:28’59 clockings, respectively, five minutes off the pace.
With Espiritu and Barnachea taking the same stand as that of Quirimit, no major shakeup is expected in today’s 213.8-km race.
“I’ll try to keep pace with him (Quirimit) and probably launch my attack in the Baguio stages,” said Espiritu in Filipino.
“It’s just five minutes, anything can happen in Baguio,” Barnachea said.
That should make the Baguio climbs doubly interesting as Quirimit, Espiritu and Barnachea are all former King of the Mountain awardees and will surely all go flat out to upstage each other in the race presented by Tanduay in cooperation with Wow Magic Sing and Air21.
But while experts see a three-cornered fight among Quirimit, Espiritu and Barnachea, three other riders inside the Magic 10 are capable of spoiling the big guns’ quest for cycling glory, including Baler Ravina of Cool Pap and prologue winner Frederick Feliciano of Vellum and Emelito Atilano of Cargohaus.
Ravina is less than two minutes behind Quirimit with an overall clocking of 13:25’52 while Feliciano and Atilano are in third and fifth spots with 13:26’12 and 13:26’54, respectively.
There is also the talented pair of Cossack Vodka – Renato Sambrano and Irish Valenzuela – both noted for mountain climbing skills.
Sambrano, 27, is running fourth with 13:26’22 while the 20-year-old Valenzuela, the 2006 rookie of the year, is in sixth place with 13:26.56.
“We’re more concerned in the overall team standing than individual race,” said Sambrano, a Mangaldan, Pangasinan native. “But if I’ll have my chance to win, I’ll take it.”
“My goal is to win a lap, I hope I can do it this year,” said Valenzuela, from Kamias, Quezon City.
Rounding up the top 10 are Caltex Desi Hardin (13:29’25) and Stage 2 winner Ericson Obosa of Bacchus (13:30’22).
Curiously out of the top 10 is 2004 King of the Mountain Lloyd Reynante of Air21, who is in 14th place, almost seven minutes behind Quirimit.
Stage 6 will pass through San Nicolas, Batac, Pinili, Badoc, Sinait, Cabugao, and San Juan in Ilocos Norte, Narvacan, Santa Maria, Santiago, Candon, Tagudin, and Bangar in Ilocos Sur and San Juan and San Fernando in La Union.
The winner of this event, backed by Champion as official outfitter, Mail and More, Bacchus as official energy drink, Cossack Vodka, Vellum Cycles, Cargohaus Global Warehouse Services, Caltex, U-Freight Forwarders and SM Supermalls, will pocket P50,000, the runner-up P30,000 and the third placer P20,000.