Sohrabi, Iranians prime up for finale

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Team sent a strong message heading to the final stage of the fourth Le Tour de Filipinas as Mehdi Sohrabi anchored the vaunted Iranians’ first lap win in the ride from Cauayan City, Isabela to this bustling provincial capital yesterday.

Sohrabi conquered the penultimate Stage Three that took the cyclists on a hilly 104 km ride, beating youthful Pinoy Rustom Lim of LBC-MVPSF Cycling Filipinas, who honored an “agreement” the breakaway duo forged entering the last five kilometers in Solano town proper.

“Pwede pa namang subukang kunin yung stage pero as respect na rin sa sa kanya, siya kasi ang nagdala sa amin sa last 10 kilometers, pumayag ako nung sinabi niya sa akin sa last five kilometers na ‘don’t sprint’ (I could have tried to go for the stage win but out of respect for him, being the one who really primarily took the pace while we’re in the breakaway, I obliged when he told me not to sprint anymore in the last five kilometers),” said Lim.

The 19-year-old Lim linked up with Sohrabi in the breakaway in Bagabag Bridge, some 25 kilometers away, after the Iranian eased up to let the Pinoy join him in the windup to the finish line in front of Capitol Building watched by a huge group of local fans.

The duo posted identical clockings of two hours, 24 minutes and .01 seconds. 

Sohrabi waited for Lim, who was a bike length behind, to reach the finish line, smiled and shook his hand for a deal consummated.

“The previous day the weather was hot and it’s not good for our team. Today (yesterday) weather was nice and it was a little bit cloudy and it benefited us. And the route was a little bit hilly, which was good for us because our team is much better in hilly, mountainous route,” said TPT manager Ahad Kazami.

Ronnel Hualda of 7-Eleven presented by Roadbike paved the way for a second Pinoy podium finisher the penultimate day of the four-stage event presented by Air21 in partnership with San Miguel Corp. and Smart as he towed a heavy field of 49 riders who crossed after Sohrabi and Lim. 

Yesterday’s results, however, didn’t alter the positioning in the overall individual plum race. 

Yellow jersey holder Lee Ki Suk of CCN, who finished sixth in the penultimate lap, maintained his hold of the individual general classification lead with an aggregate of 12:08:21. He stood 16 seconds ahead of Douglas Repacholi (12:08:37), 18 seconds up on Tabriz’ Ghader Mizbani (12:08:39) and 21 seconds in front of another TPT ace Hossein Askari (12:08:42).

The shakeup will likely come in today’s concluding Stage Four, a 132.7-km rollercoaster ride to Baguio City through the highly-demanding Cordilleras mountain passes. The lap will feature three King of the Mountain summits, topped off by a treacherous 5.8-km climb in Kayapa town (1,500m above sea level). 

“It will be a fantastic race tomorrow (today), we’re prepared for Stage Four, that’s what we came here for,” said TPT boss Ahad, counting on anyone from four of his wards in the Top 10, Mizbani, Askari, Amir Kolahdoz (sixth, 51 seconds adrift) and Saed Safardazeh (seventh, 52 seconds off), to contend for top honors.

TPT also enjoys the upperhand in the team general classification, assembling 36:25:37 to lead CCN (36:30:06) and City of Perth (36:32:48).

Defending champion Baler Ravina occupied 19th spot with 12:15:58, a good 7:37 behind leader Lee.

“Pipipitin natin. Malakas sila pero lamang natin ay kabisado na natin ang  ruta (We’ll fight it out. They may be strong but we have the edge in being more familiar with the route),” said Ravina, looking to duplicate his blistering windup last year that catapulted him to the top. 

The plan, he said, is to “stirke hard in the summits and gain as much cushion as possible.” 

The Le Tour is sponsored by Standard Insurance, Jinbei, Victory Liner, San Mig Coffee, Magnolia Purewater, Red Media, Foton, Maynilad, Kia, Sign Media, Integrated Waste Management Inc., Eurotel, American Vinyl, LBC and 7-Eleven.