Santy quells rival bid, secures crown

TAGAYTAY – Santy Barnachea had some anxious moments in the treacherous Sungay climb yesterday but received tremendous boost from an able lieutenant as he fended off Frederick Feliciano’s last-ditch bid to cement his claim to the Padyak Pinoy 2006 crown.

Towed by Sunbolt assistant skipper Hilson Mangahis in the final ascend in the treacherous route from Talisay, Barnachea emerged in the summit right behind his chief rivals to put the lock on the coveted championship in the compact eight-stage tour which concludes with the criterium race in Marikina today.

With Barnachea yielding only nine seconds from his overnight three-minute 58-second lead over Feliciano in the tough Tagaytay out-and-back stage, the 90km criterium race is now considered a mere victory ride for the Navyman from Umingan, Pangasinan.

"At long last, I’ve got it," said Barnachea, in Filipino, even as he looks forward to his coronation today in Marikina.

"Hopefully, this will provide a fresh start to my career. I was a promising rookie in 1997 and even won the 2002 Calabarzon Tour, but my career soured up the last few years due to personal problems," Barnachea said.

The 30-year-old Seaman Second Class said he will simply float with the pack today to avoid accident and complete an eight-day journey to Tour immortality.

For a while, it appeared that Barnachea would relinquish the yellow jersey and the crown as Feliciano waged his last attempt to unseat the former upon hitting the Sungay climb.

Feliciano, a known mountain-climber who was also runner-up to Warren Davadilla last year, pulled away and built a margin of about three minutes over Barnachea halfway through the stiff ascent. Barnachea, however, would get the needed boost from Mangahis, and the two waged a searing chase to finish just nine seconds behind Feliciano and Co. to the cheers from his supporters led by his wife Michelle and father Santiago.

Feliciano was so disappointed he left the finish area immediately. He wasn’t also seen in the dining area.

Ericson Obosa rode defensively, staying close with Feliciano from start to finish to keep his spot at third place. The Manaoag, Pangasinan bet is to receive P45,000 today for winning third place honors (P25,000) and the Sprint King (P20,000) plum.

Bicolano rider John Ricafort soloed home with a time of three hours, 43 minutes and 55 seconds in the 140km run and stole the King of the Mountain crown from Barnachea. Ricafort, also a national rider, beat Barnachea by four points for the KOM plum and the P20,000 prize that goes with it.

Davadilla waged his own fight for a second-place finish in the stage that lifted him from seventh to fifth place in the overall individual standings.

"If it were a longer Tour, I could still have a chance to retain the crown," said the deposed champion. "But at least, I put up a fight."

The Cossack Vodka squad skippered by Renato Sembrano with Renato Dolosa as coach topped the stage and went on to win the team championship with a winning margin of over 10 minutes over runner-up Elixir Sports.

The other members of the triumphant team are Michael Reyes, Roberto Torres, Nilo Jasul, Irish Valenzuela, Leonel Dimaano, Edgardo Bellezer and Elli Camarino.

The champion squad is to receive the cash pot of P500,000.

Aside from his share from the team top prize, Valenzuela is also to earn P20,000 as his prize as top rookie. He beat Harvey Sicam for the Rookie of the Year plum in the tour presented by Tanduay and organized by Dynamic Outsource Solutions in cooperation with Wow Magic Sing.