Ronda Pilipinas fires off with 10-stage race

SORSOGON CITY — Four former champions and a hundred determined aspirants go at it for fame and glory as the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2022 returns from a one-year pandemic hiatus with a 10-stage race that opens Friday here and ends on March 20 in Baguio.

Defending champion George Oconer and 2019 winner Ronald Oranza of Navy Standard Insurance and two-time Ronda kings Santy Barnachea and Jan Paul Morales of Excellent Noodles have emerged the riders to beat in a competitive 104-man field spread through 13 squads eyeing a place in the sun and the top purse worth P1 million.

“I’m ready to defend my title,” said the 29-year-old Oconer, whose triumph came two years ago.

“We’re coming in Ronda fully prepared. We’ve been training for a year now,” said the 47-year-old Barnachea, the inaugural 2011 winner and 2015 titlist who came out of retirement to go at it one final time.

“And we thank our boss for the continuous support,” he added referring to Excellent Noodles owner Alex Bilian.

Ronda’s 11th edition unfolds with two stages — the 12.3km Individual Time Trial at 8 a.m. and the 59.4km Team Trial at 1 p.m. — on opening day with both flagging off at the Provincial Capitol and ending at the Rampeolas Boulevard here.

“Expect a thrilling race because we’re all excited for the return of LBC Ronda Pilipinas after we were forced to move it this year due to the pandemic,” said LBC Ronda project director Bernadette Guerrero on Thursday.

It will not be a breeze though for the big guns as Dominic Perez and Jonel Carcueva of Go for Gold, Marvin Tapic and Cris Joven of Army, Rudy Roque of Dreyna, Sherwin Carrera of Eagle Cement, Warren Bordeos of Champs Café and Marcelo Felipe and Rustom Lim of Team Nueva Ecija are all capable of snatching the limelight.

Also out to make a significant impact are Bike Kings Laguna, Vantage Ilocos Norte, VPharma, Team Quezon Province and Team Ilocos Sur.

Navy coach Reinhard Gorantes, for his part, believed participants will make or break their campaign in the final three stages—the 174.4km Baler-Echague, Isabela Stage Eight, 193.2km Santiago, Isabela-Baguio Stage Nine and the Stage 10 Baguio criterium—where they are expected to tackle mountainous paths.

“The last three stages will decide the winner,” said Gorantes in the event sponsored by LBC Express, Inc., MVP Sports Foundation, Quad X, Smart, Twin Cycle Gear, Standard Insurance, Print2Go, Elves Bicycles, Elitewheels, Orome, Maynilad, PhilHydro and Garmin.

Petron, Boy Kanin, Green Planet Bikeshop, Prolite, Fujiwara, Black Mamba, Lightwater and LBC Foundation are also backing the event along with PhilCycling and the Games and Amusements Board.

After the ITT and the TTT, Ronda will continue with the 163km Sorsogon-Lergazpi Stage Three tomorrow, the 189.1km Legazpi-Daet Stage Four Sunday, 212km Daet-Lucena Stage Five Monday and 157.4km Lucena-Tagaytay Stage Six Tuesday.

The Ronda cavalcade will then take a breather on Wednesday before proceeding with the 157.4km Lucena-Tagaytay Stage Six Thursday and the dreaded final three laps.