SIPALAY CITY, Philippines – Jay Pagnanawon showed he’s simply in the mold of his old man as the son of former champ Rolando Pagnanawon upstaged fancied Irish Valenzuela and Baler Ravina to claim Stage One honors in the Visayas qualifying leg of the Ronda Pilipinas 2015 presented by LBC that started down in Dumaguete and ended in this quiet Negros Occidental city yesterday.
Pagnanawon, 26, outsprinted Valenzuela and Ravina in a mad dash to the finish to top the 172.7-km race in four hours, 25 minutes, 11 seconds for his first-ever stage victory in four Ronda campaigns.
Valenzuela, an Army man who won the third edition of this annual race, checked in at second in 4:25.11 while Ravina, a noted mountain climber, finished third in 4:25.12.
But it was Pagnanawon who took the spotlight as he also claimed the King of the Mountain and sprint honors to pocket additional P6,000 to his P25,000 winnings as lap stage winner.
Pagnanawon, a native of Talisay, Cebu now representing Team Negros, however, stressed his goal is to win the tournament proper like his father Rolando, who topped the fabled Marlboro Tour in 1986.
“My dream is to become a Tour champion like my father. Hopefully I can do that this year,” said Pagnanawon in Pilipino.
Alvin Benosa placed fourth in 4:25.39 while Boots Cayubit clocked 4:26.02 for fifth followed by Reynaldo Navarro (4:26-38), Kenneth Solis (4:26.43), Cris Joven (4:26.44), Leonel Dimaano (4:26.44) and Denver Casayuran (4:26.45) in that order.
Solis wound up topping the Under-23 side ahead of Dominic Perez and Arjey Peralta while Edalson Ellorem, Daniel Van and Engilbert Enarciso took the top three places in the 18-and-under division.
After biding their time, Pagnanawon, Valenzuela, Ravina and Army’s Alvin Benosa made their move 20 kms into Sipalay then broke away from the 19-man lead pack in Bayawan.
Just 20 seconds behind them were Dominic Perez, 40-year-old Rey Navarro and Nelson Martin while 12 riders, who included Mark Bonzo, Ronnel Hualda, Nelson Martin, Boots Ryan Cayubit, Merculio Ramos and Oscar Rindole, trailed just 30 seconds behind with the main group by seven minutes.
The race resumes today with a 156.6-km Stage Two starting at the Bacolod City Plaza, passing through the mountains of Don Salvador Benedicto twice via San Carlos before returning to the Bacolod City Government Center.
Ronda race director Ric Rodriguez said this is one of the toughest stages not just in the qualifying legs but in the whole race as well what with three long, Category 2 ascents in Don Salvador Benedicto.
“It’s definitely one of the toughest because of the Don Salvador Benedicto mountains where the riders will pass through twice,” said Rodriguez, adding that the pack will also tackle Murcia, Mt. Kanlaon, San Carlos before turning back to Bacolod for the finish.
The race is presented by LBC and supported by major sponsors the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation, Petron and Mitsubishi and minor sponsors Cannondale, Standard Insurance, Tech1 Corp., Maynilad and NLEX and sanctioned by PhilCycling under Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino with TV5 and Sports Radio as media partners.
For updates, check Ronda Pilipinas’ official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/RondaPilipinas, and Twitter account, @rondapilipinas.