Just like cheese and wine

Since this column comes out every Monday, and bicycle races in Europe ends close to midnight our time Sunday evening, then I couldn’t really do an article about 99% of the best races in the world.

I say 99% because one-day races in Italy are held on Saturday, not Sunday and that’s all the time I need to put my thoughts into writing.

The latest race of course, was Paris-Roubaix, which was two Sundays ago. Even though I know that this story is already stale by regular standards, the fact that we’re all cycling fans (meaning you!) and most of use ride and race bicycles, we really don’t mind hearing the same stories again and again and again.

For example, I have heard how our very own and 1985 Marlboro Tour runner up Dondon  Romales won the Marlboro eliminations which started and finished along Mango Avenue back in the early 80’s. The story gets better and better every time its being retold by my old cycling buddy, Mario Bacalla.

It’s hard to imagine a bicycle race being held in the streets of Cebu City today, never mind the finish line located adjacent to the Iglesia ni Kristo church but it happened! (It’s also unimaginable to believe that cyclists in those days used to train around the Fuente Osmena Circle, but they did!)

The route started in the city proper, then proceeded to Talamban and then back to the Mango. Mario wasn’t able to tell me how my laps the riders did but lets allow Mario to recall it for us.

Dondon was in the lead group with 4-5 guys, including another Cebuano, Rolando Pagnanawon and Luzon riders. The breakaway had just made a right turn from MJ Cuenco to Mango Avenue and you can imagine the crowd who was clearly in pins and needles waiting for the winer to cross the line. The crowd was just massive- no, it was humongous, and they were all over the finish line craning their necks to see Dondon, who is a very amiable person and everybody’s friend. Guiding the pack was the Beetle of Dondon’s father, Teddy. As a rule, the lead vehicle must leave the riders as they neared the finish line to avoid disrupting the sprint. But as the Teddy’s Beetle approached that small hump along USC Boys High, it had to make an abrupt stop as the massive crowd of cycling fans was getting in the way!!! It could not turn back as the riders were just a few meters away.

Then bedlam!

Pagnanawon braked and so did the riders from Luzon. But Dondon had other plans. In his mind was the 30k prize for the champion and the only way to do that was to crash his way to finish between his fathers Beetle and the crowd. And he did!!! He fell, picked up his bicycle and ran to the line and got the 30K for winning the elimations!

Now this story never gets old and every time Mario re-tells the story, I am in rapt attention, even though I know the ending.

Peter Sagan finally taking his first Paris-Roubaix two weeks ago was a long time coming. It could be two months or two years, but I’ll never get tired of watching that race over and over again. But I would be more than willing to pay to listen to Mario again, because he tells it in 1080p.