Criterium GP third leg up Sunday

MANILA, Philippines - Local cyclists are in for an early Christmas treat as the third leg of the Road Bike Philippines-711 Manila Criterium Grand Prix, dubbed the “Lucio Cochanco Sr. Memorial Race,” hits the road around the Rizal Park and Roxas Boulevard on Sunday.

“We are honoring the late father of Team Franzia chief, Lucio Cochanco Jr., who was also an avid sportsman and cycling enthusiast while he was alive,” said events director Ric Rodriguez of the one-day bikefest also backed by Oishi, Excellent Noodles and Columbia sportswear.

Rodriguez also thanked Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Manila Sports Council chairman Nino dela Cruz for jointly staging the circuit competitions, which have drawn bigger number of entries with each leg since they began two months ago.

“Without their invaluable support, we could not have made our races a success,” he added of the series also backed by Spyder helmets, Suunto watches, Franzia wine, Gatorade, Summit Mineral Water, E-touch mobile phones, Cellway and Red Bull, the event’s official energy drink, distributed by Maryland Bros.

Sunday’s event will be the last this year for local riding’s big guns, led by veterans Victor Espiritu and Lloyd Lucien Reynante, fresh from their recent stint in the Speedy Tour d’ Indonesia where the RP-711 riders finished eighth overall.

Former Tour champion Espiritu placed 11th in the grueling Indonesian bikathon.

But judging from the outcome of the previous two stops – won by John Paul Morales and Nilo Estayo, respectively – the Elite Open division promises to be anybody’s race when it takes off and finishes at T.M. Kalaw.

Except for some slight changes, race director Noel Baltazar said that route is similar to the second leg of the event “with the sharp U-turn on Pedro Gil that the riders should look out for and may prove crucial in determining the winners.”

Starting at 7 a.m., the races will be staged in the all-FilChi, 56 years old and above, Under-25, 26 to 35, 36 to 45, 46 to 55 and Open Elite categories.