The wet race ended with RP team ace Ericson Obosa outsprinting fellow national rider Santi Barnachea in the last 200 meters to gain the first stage honor in the compact eight-stage tour organized by the Dynamic Solutions Inc. (Dos-1) and presented by Tanduay Rhum in cooperation with Wow Magic Sing.
Several young riders made their debut in the annual summer spectacle with Harvey Sicam living up to his name’s great reputation, finishing third behind Obosa and Barnachea in the 125km race. Curiously, the three winners are all from Pangasinan.
Harvey, a 20-year-old rice farmer now trying to follow the footsteps of two-time Tour champion uncle Jacinto, stayed close with the big guns almost throughout and held his own as Obosa and Barnachea launched their attack in the last two kilometers.
He later expressed confidence he can put up a good run for the championship and relive the glorious moments of the Sicams in the Tour. "I really want to relive our name in cycling," said Harvey, whose father is a younger brother of Jacinto, the 1981-82 champion who died in a vehicular accident in 1989.
Obosa, however, was the biggest story of the day as he launched a fifth Tour title bid on a bright note, riding ferociously from the start and flashing home four seconds ahead of Barnachea with a clocking of 2:58’30 to cheers from a good-size crowd at the finish near the Freedom Park here.
The 26-year-old Manaoag, Pangasinan native, fourth placer in the criterium event in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, braved the wet, slippery roads in Bulacan, taking stage sprint honors in San Rafael, Bulacan and then in Gapan, Nueva Ecija before eventually winning stage honors at the finish.
"I just tried to make a move. When the opportunity came, I grabbed it," said Obosa, who had five previous stage honors in the Tour in 2003-05.
Barnachea, the 2003 Calabarzon titlist, said he really planned to make a move in this short Tour early and he was satisfied with his second-place finish.
"This race is short. It’s better to position yourself at the top early. It’s hard to chase," said Barnachea, who faded away in the last 100 meters in his sprint duel with Obosa as he suffered leg cramps.
Reigning champion Warren Davadilla and 2005 Tour runner-up Frederick Feliciano rode with the main peloton all day and checked in ninth and eighth with the same clockings of 3:00’09.
Apparently, Davadilla was in poor shape, having suffered a bout of flu when he’s about to taper off in his training for the Tour.
Performing much worse yesterday was 2004 titlist Arnel Quirimit who suffered a flat tire twice and finished part of the last big bunch, 13 minutes and 41 seconds off the pace.
Energized by the incessant rains, riders launched several attacks just a few kilometers after being flagged off from the neutral start along Commonwealth Ave.
Turning left to Quirino Highway, Oscar Rendole and Hilson Mangahis had peeled off from the pack, before several riders had their breakaway attempts along the narrow, winding roads in San Jose Del Monte, Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos and Baliuag in Bulacan. Sports then Go21.