Marites Bitbit and Niño Surban were the only Cebuano competitors in the “Bike Asia 2008” 100 Mountain Bike Race but managed to stole the thunder as they posted a 1-2 finish in the event over the weekend at the Tampines Mountainbike Park in Singapore.
Bitbit ruled the women’s solo competition with ease, besting 10 other entries in the division. With approximately 200 meters before the finish line, Bitbit broke away from the pack for a runaway finish.
While Bitbit was an early favorite in Singapore, Surban was not expected to give endurance specialist Tinker Juarez, the reigning US 24hr champion, a tough battle in the premiere men’s open solo action.
Juarez, a two-time Olympian and a Mountainbike Hall of Famer, was even surprised that after he left Surban by at least two minutes in the first two laps,the Cebuano suddenly outpedalled him.
Juarez then utilized his vast experienced to overtake Surban as the battle came closer to the final three laps.
But due to thunderstorms that hit the area, the organizers decided to cut short the number of laps, to Juarez’s advantage. Had the race went the full 10-lap distance, Surban could have pulled a major upset.
Nevertheless, Surban was gracious in defeat and accepted his silver with pride knowing he was able to give a good fight to Juarez. More importantly, he was able to displace defending champion Bandi Sugito of Indonesia to third place.–Caecent No-ot Magsumbol