Ronda Stage 7: Oranza man in red

TARLAC CITY, Philippines — When Ronald Oranza took over from Jan Paul Morales as new Navy Standard Insurance team captain, questions were raised if he could balance contending for the title and leading a team to another crown in the 11th LBC Ronda Pilipinas.

Oranza has silenced the doubters after his tour-de-force Stage 6 performance last Tuesday in Tagaytay.

“Coach (Reinhard Gorrantes) believed in me and that’s all I need to do whatever I need to do as a teammate and a leader,” said Oranza, who will wear the leader’s red LBC jersey in the 180.4-kilometer Lucena-Baler Stage 7 starting at 9 a.m. today in front of the provincial capitol.

Oranza bucked a busted rear tire and cramps to deliver a performance to remember in Stage 6 that catapulted him to the overall lead at 18 hours, 46 minutes and four seconds.

The 2018 Ronda champion spent yesterday’s break doing light training and hydration to rest his tired legs in preparation for the final four stages where the remaining 90 of the 104 riders tackle the ascents including the dreaded climb at Baguio’s back door from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya in the penultimate Stage 9 Saturday.

And the proud son of Villasis, Pangasinan knows leads could vanish with just one mistake in the mountains.

“I will do my best to protect the lead but it’s going to be tough because the last few stages are the toughest in Ronda this year,” he said.

Expected to hound Oranza like a pack of wolves are Excellent Noodles’ Jan Paul Morales (18:46:46), Go for Gold’s Jonel Carcueva (18:49:01), Excellent Noodles’ Mervin Corpuz (18:50:51), Navy Standard Insurance’s Jeremy Lizardo (18:52:36), Excellent Noodles’ Mar Francis Sudario (18:55:01), Navy Standard Insurance’s Ronald Lomotos (18:55:04), Go for Gold’s Jericho Jay Lucero (18:55:10), Daniel Ven Carino (18:56:21), and Navy Standard Insurance’s John Mark Camingao (18:56:45) who crowd the top 10.