Lomotos finishes strong, takes third

MANILA, Philippines - Ronald Lomotos of LBC-MVP Sports Foundation Cycling Pilipinas turned in a strong second-place finish in the 189.2-kilometer Tanjung Aru-Papar Stage Two to move to third overall in the Tour de Borneo 2013 in Sabah, Malaysia last Monday.

Lomotos, who placed sixth in the Asian Championship last year, beat the 94-man peloton in a mad dash to the finish for second place, clocking four hours, 43 minutes, 17 seconds, just four seconds behind lap winner Mehdi Sohrabi of TPT (4:43.13).

Hossein Nateghi, also of TPT, took third spot with the same time of Lomotos.

The Filipino bet thus came out of nowhere to assume third overall with an aggregate time of 7:23.56, eight seconds behind yellow jersey holder Sohrabi and four seconds behind Stage One winner Australian Paul Van Der Ploeg of TCO with 7:23.52.

Mark Galedo of 7 Eleven-Roadbike Phl, the second edition Ronda Pilipinas winner, slid from No. 5 to No. 7 with a total time of 7:23.58. But he gained some points in the sprint races after finishing second of the last of three intermediate sprint races of the 124.2-km lap in Kuala Penyu.

Ronald Oranza also tumbled from fourth to eighth place with 7:23.59 but, just like Galedo, the other LBC-MVPSF rider still stayed within striking distance.                               -