Reynante chip off the old block

MARIKINA CITY , Philippines  – Sticking to his former two-time Tour ng Pilipinas champion dad’s gameplan, Lloyd Reynante checked in a four-man third group to grab the overall lead in Stage Three of the Liquigaz-LPGMA Tour of Luzon marred by a mix-up in a jammed stretch in San Pablo, Laguna yesterday.

“My father told me to always keep my focus, check my temper and pray. These really helped me a lot,” said Reynante, recalling the advice given by his famous father Maui as he hoped to hang on to the lead heading into the final four stages, including the dreaded Baguio climbs.

Unheralded Mark Guevarra stole the thunder from the big guns as he topped the stage that was stopped and re-started on a U-turn slot in San Pablo or 41.5 kilometers from the starting line in Tagaytay due to gridlock.

The 23-year-old rider from Caloocan City showed no emotion when he was welcomed by the cheering crowd, mostly bike-clad spectators, after he crossed the line first in 4:04.12 inside the Marikina Sports Center.

The 30-year-old Reynante clocked four hours, five minutes and 23 seconds as he came in with Dante Cagas of Road Bike/7-Eleven, 1998 and 2006 champion Warren Davadilla of Newton/Regasco Group and 2004 winner Ryan Tanguilig in third place.

But it proved enough to give Reynante, always a contender but never a champion, the yellow jersey as he posted an aggregate time of 11:57.32.

“It’s a good feeling that I finally got the chance to wear the yellow jersey,” said Reynante in Filipino. “I also feel the pressure because we all know wearing it means I’ll be closely watched by my opponents.”

But for Guevarra, the lap honors was secondary, stressing his focus is on helping Road Bike/7-Eleven win the team championship.

“If I can win one like I did today (yesterday), I’ll be thankful, but the team is really my priority,” said Guevarra, who finished 48 seconds ahead of lone second placer Benito Lopez Jr. of Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino’s Batang Tagaytay City team.

Guevarra’s feat capped Road Bike/7-Eleven’s dominating performance in the day – which started in Tagaytay City and ended in this clean and green city – as three teammates finished in the top 10 in the overall standings.

Team skipper Dante Cagas was 17 seconds off the pace, Joseph Millanes 40 seconds while Guevarra jumped from 11th spot to No. 5, or merely 50 seconds behind Reynante.

Stage One winner Tomas Martinez was the fourth Road Bike/7-Eleven rider in the lead pack at No. 7, or 2.26 behind.

After three laps, Road Bike/7-Eleven hiked its 17-minute lead to nearly half an hour after posting an aggregate 47:53:20.001.

Batang Tagaytay and Liquigaz stood in second and third places with clockings of 48:22:29.846 and 48:24:13.153, respectively.

Ramos, for his part, dropped to No. 2, six seconds behind Reynante.

“It was really hard wearing the yellow jersey,” said Ramos, who finished runner-up to Arnel Quirimit six years ago.

Guevarra used the San Pablo mix-up to catch up with the early main lead pack headed by Cagas and Batang Tagaytay captain Baler Ravina and then launched his own attack in Mabitac, Laguna to seize the Burlington lap honors.

Reynante, on the other hand, was just too glad to grab the yellow jersey, thanking his father Manuel (Maui), who won the Tour ng Pilipinas in 1977 and 1980, for inspiring him to be the best among the rest.

“My goal is to keep the yellow jersey until the Baguio stage. If I can do that, I’ll have the chance of winning my first Tour,” said Reynante, who was barely one year old when his dad captured the second Marlboro Tour crown in 1980.