The three leaders have different strengths with Lauron the better sprinter, Bardaje the better climber and Patalinghug good at both. But with majority of the races held at the Mandaue Reclamation Area, the overall classification seemed destined to go to either Lauron or Patalinghug. But of course, you can never count Bardaje out. A former OFW in Japan, he's a very intense and hungry rider who comes to races expecting to win. The three frontrunners also have a strong team to support them so we're in for an exciting finish. Shades of F1 and MotoGP!
Stand up guy
In a country where almost all public utilities have standard reply for their inutility, Architect Manuel Guanzon's claim that he can finish the Cebu International Convention Center on time is a breathe of fresh air in a place of stale promises.
I called up a power company last Sunday during a power failure in our area and would have asked when their professional technicians can restore the power, but all I got was a voice from a recording machine saying that they have no idea when they can restore the power. Try calling the professionals at your water and phone services, your local government, your cable TV, your handyman and most other public utilities and ask "when" a complaint or a request can be finished and most of the time, they'll say, "paningkamotan lang namo nga mahoman og dali, sir!"
These days, only a handful of real men will say what's to be said. I don't know Architect Guanzon from Adam but for me, the man has something what other people lack and it's called accountability. He didn't say, "paningkamotan lang namo ni nga mahoman", like most people do. He simply said that he can finish the job on time. And that is what professionalism is all about-accountability.
Now is not the time to crucify him, for that can wait if he can't keep his promise. But whether he finishes the CICC on time or not is not that important to me. What's important is his standing up for his work. Imagine if you ask your anesthesiologist when you're going to regain consciousness after surgery and the doctor says, "Paningakamotan lang nako nga maka mata ka og dali".
Juny Binamira coined the phrase "alibi factory" which refers to a cyclist who says all the imaginable excuse as to why he can't keep up with the pace. Architect Guanzon is definitely not an "alibi factory".
Asiad
Fifteen cyclists, including Arnel Quirimit and Santy Barnachea, will represent the Philippines in this December's Asiad in Doha. Unfortunately for Cebuano Nino Surban, one of the best mountainbiker in the RP squad, mountainbiking wasn't included in the games. However, Maritess Bitbit, the SEAG MTB XC champion, will be the lone female rep of the Philippines and will do both road and track events.
The athletes will be accompanied by two coaches and an "equipment custodian". This is actually I've heard of a cycling job called equipment custodian so I asked some friends what the job description is all about and they told me that the guy is basically a mechanic. I thought that this guy was hired to keep the bikes and equipments from being stolen, lost or worse, sold!