BAGUIO CITY – At age 38, not one believed Navy's Santy Barnachea could win again after his Ronda Pilipinas reign in the inaugural edition four years ago.
Except himself.
Defying overwhelming odds and making believers out of his doubters, the ageless Barnachea set a date with history after he crowned himself champion of the Ronda Pilipinas 2015 presented by LBC with still two stages to go.
Barnachea, a native of Umingan, Pangasinan, clocked four hours and 20.34 minutes in the 152.5-kilometer Stage Six that started down in Dagupan and ended in this cold, foggy mountaintop city here, practically securing his second title and reducing today's stages – an 8.8-km individual time trial in the morning and 74.5-km criterium in the afternoon – as his coronation.
"Tapos na (It's all over)," said Barnachea in Filipino.
Barnachea will thus make history as the first rider to ever win twice in this annual race considered as the biggest and richest in Asia after reigning supreme in Ronda's first ever race in 2011.
A cool P1 million also awaits Barnachea.
It will be Barnachea's fourth Tour title after he also won in the 2002 Tour of Calabarzon and 2006 Padyak Pinoy.
Impressively, Barnachea duplicated his 2011 feat by becoming the overall champion without ruling a single stage.
And he will also become the oldest to accomplish such feat.
Unless an accident or a bad break or two happens.
"Knock on wood, I hope not," he said.
PSC-PhilCycling's Junrey Navarra, who is from Koronadal, South Cotabato, took stage honors in 4:16.22 while teammate Rustom Lim, who hails from Guimba, Nueva Ecija, checked in at second in 4:18.19, while 7-Eleven's Boots Ryan Cayubit was at No. 3 in 4:18.22.
The diminutive but big-hearted Navarra thus won on this exact same stage for the third straight year while Mitsubishi King of the Mountain title from 7-Eleven's Baler Ravina that further established him as the country's best mountain-climber.
"I dedicate this to my team," said Navarra.
For Lim, who copped the Malolos-Tarlac Stage Four, it was his second runner-up finish whenever Ronda holds a stage in Baguio.
"I was second to Peter Pouly in one of the stages here in Baguio last year so I'm happy I did it again," he said.
Oconer, 23, consoled himself of knowing that he will have a chance to finish second to Barnachea and won for himself P500,000.
"He's too strong," said Oconer of Barnachea. "I think it's not that bad to be second out of this so many riders."
Rounding up the top 10 in the overall individual standings were Navy's Jan Paul Morales (21:58.54), ZDK's Edgar Nieto (22:00.51), Navy's Ronald Oranza (22:01.07) and Lloyd Lucien Reynante (22:01.23), Army's Irish Valenzuela (22:02.24), 7-Eleven's Baler Ravina (22:02.29), Army's Cris Joven (22:03.39) and Navy's John Mark Camingao (22:08.47).
While Barnachea and Navarra have all secured their respective divisions, Morales (blue Petron sprint), 7-Eleven's Jay Lampawog (yellow MVPSF 17-18 years old) and Camingao (white u-23) will have to fight to keep theirs with two sprint-friendly laps lined up in the final day.