Tour de Larrazabal Report

5km Prologue: The race route along the Ormoc Airport road looked dangerous early due to the incessant rain the previous night. Since the road is rarely used, dogs and kids, which doesn’t usually mix well with bike races, found themselves sharing the same tarmac with riders warming up. The first half was a false flat with a strong headwind, which made the flipside fast and sweet. Kiwi Daniel Carruthers, a semi-pro, won with a sub-7 minute time. Ramon Espinosa of Minglanilla, who rides for Cebu Cycling-HBC, came in third.

Stage I: The 95km road race looked easy at first, in fact, the speed of the peloton never went down below 45kph in the early part of the race. This time, Ramon Espinosa went on a solo break and with a strong Cebu Cycling-HBC team behind him, he was never seen until the finish line. But Carruthers, riding without a team, manage to give HBC-CC a slip and broke away with 20 km to go to snatch 2nd place despite a rear flat tire in the closing kilometers but he had to surrender the leadership to Espinosa.

Stage II: At 151km long, the Ormoc-Mahaplag-Ormoc stage was the “reina etapa” or the Queen stage of the TdL. Sandwiched in the middle were multiple climbs, some as long as 7k in length. From km 50 to km 100, there was nary a flat portion, it was either up or down. The rough surface of the pavement made things worse, making my wrist feel arthritic. Compared to our Transcentral Highway, the climbs to Mahaplag weren’t as steep but the length of the route took its toll. Lots of riders dropped out including since my body couldn’t take it anymore. Ramon Espinosa cemented his hold on the GC overall after Daniel Carruthers had a couple of mechanicals- a flat tire and a broken crank. Both riders were going toe to toe during the climbs until Carruther’s unfortunate incident. Barring any mechanical or accidents in tomorrow’s crit, it’s Amon’s race to lose.

Stage III: The stage III criterium had to be scrapped when the organizers could not secure the needed permit to use the airport runway. So it was decided that we’re going to have a short road race instead. I was a bit apprehensive since all of us were not prepared for a road race in terms of support crew and preparation (drinks and food). Yet, like moths attracted to the flame, race we did and it turned out fine. Daniel Carruthers, taking Phillip Sainz with him, attacked during the rolling start and held on for the win. The top three overall remained unchanged with Espinosa, Ernesto Hortaleza and Sainz, respectively in the GC.

 Finally, I’d like to thank our race crew, Lyndyl Caraquel and Nilo Barablose for the fantastic support they gave us during the race. Thanks also to the race officials, the Leyte Traffic Group and everyone else who made the TdL safer and more fun. Of course, thanks to Aty Goyo Larrazabal and his family for organizing such a fantastic event!……Thanks also to my good friend Gogoy Sy, who is managing a new branch of PANNY’S BAKERY in Baybay, for staying with me during Stage II and then driving me back to Ormoc… (FREEMAN NEWS)