Cebu bets on a mission

CEBU, Philippines - Five elite Cebuano pedal-pushers carry a heavy load on their shoulders and that is to end Cebu’s title drought in a national cycling tour when the 2013 LBC Ronda Pilipinas kicks off today in Zamboanga City.

Led by the multi-titled John Renee Mier, the other local talents seeing action in the grueling 16-stage, 21-day road race covering a total of 2,200 kilometers are Elmer Navarro, Marvin Tapic and the Pagnanawon brothers Jaybop and Jhunvie.

Mier and Navarro will showcase their skills for Team PLDT/Spyder, while Tapic and the Pagnanawons, children of the last Cebuano national tour champion Rolando “Boy” Pagnanawon, will see action under the wings of Y101 FM-Cebu.

With only three Cebuano qualifiers available for Y101 FM-Cebu, team manager Amis Urgel decided to tap the services of former national titlist Warren Davadilla along with Emilito Atilano, Renato Sembrano, Bernard Luzon and Jayjay Tolentino to form a respectable lineup.

“Makaingon kog kusog-kusog na gyud ta ron kay naa naman tay napuno sa team na mga beterano. Naka-practice na pud sila as a team so naa nay teamwork and medyo advantage sa familiarity sa ruta,” said Urgel.

Mier, for his part, may be racing in another team but he also hopes to bring home the bacon for his fellow Cebuanos.

This is the third time that the 20-year-old Mier is competing in the event and he believes that their youth will work to their advantage in their quest for the overall crown.

“Halos mi under-23 sa team pero mga experienced na sad so fight gyud ni,” said Mier, ranked ninth overall last year.

The rest of the contending teams are Roadbike Philippines/RTS, American Vynil/LPGMA, Team Hundred Islands/Pangasinan, Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance, Team Ilocos Sur, V.Mobile/Smart, Team One Tarlac, Team Metro Manila/San Miguel, Team Enrile, and Team Mindanao/Cycle Line Butuan.

Meanwhile, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza and the rest of the Oponganons look forward with excitement to hosting Stage Five on January 18, a 156.8km journey from Mactan Island to Busay passing through the northern towns of Sogod, Tabuelan and Balamban.

Stage Four, covering 134.2km, is set on January 17 starting and ending at the Plaza Independencia passing the southern towns of Cebu including Dumanjug.

“With the support of the private sector, our dream of becoming a favored sports tourism destination is starting to come true,” said Mayor Radaza in a press conference at Be Hotel yesterday.

Radaza is thankful that despite the short notice, Be Hotel through its general manager Garry Garcia extended its full support to the city government’s call of making Lapu-Lapu a world-class sports tourism hub.

Meanwhile, for today's Stage One, a total of 96 cyclists will be flagged off in Zamboanga City and riders will race for 134 kilometers to nearby Ipil, where the 141km Stage Two will start Sunday and end in Pagadian City. The final phase of the Mindanao Leg will cover 136km of paved roads from Pagadian City to Iligan City.

Then Ronda will go to Cebu for a pair of races. And then it will be all Luzon from there with Legs Malolos to Tarlac (120km) on Jan. 20, Tarlac to Olongapo (114km) on Jan. 21, Olongapo to Alaminos (125km) on Jan. 22, Mangaldan to Vigan (230km) on Jan. 24, Vigan to Laoag (82km) on Jan. 25, Pagudpud to Aparri (181km) on Jan. 26, Aparri to Tuguegarao (102km) on Jan. 27, and Tuguegarao to Solano (204km) on Jan. 28.

The Ronda will conclude with legs from Solano to Baguio (147km) on Jan. 30, Pugo to Baguio (34km) on Jan. 31 and Baguio-Baguio (67.2km) on Feb. 1.

2013 LBC Ronda Pilipinas ushers in the year in Philippine sports with a 16-stage, 21-day, 2,200km journey on wheels featuring a select cast of veterans and upcoming superstars.

The cycling extravaganza staged for the third straight year by LBC  Express, Inc., the leading courier and money transfer firm, is staking a whopping P7.5 million.

While the individual prizes remain the same – P1M for the champion, P500,000 for second and P250,000 for third all the way to 20th place worth P10,000 – only the top six of the 12 competing teams will receive prizes.

The champion gets P1 million, second P500,000, third P250,000, fourth P100,000, fifth P90,00 and sixth P80,000. (FREEMAN)