Reynante, rivals enter tour's crucial grind

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – Lloyd Reynante floated with his chief pursuers in another traffic-marred ride from Marikina City to here yesterday to retain the yellow jersey halfway through the Liquigaz-LPGMA Tour of Luzon.

But the real battle for cycling supremacy starts today – the first of the last three stages featuring the dreaded Baguio climbs where, by tradition, the Tour is won or lost.

Reynante, of American Vinyl, arrived in the group of Arnel Quirimit of Happy Nuts, Oscar Rendole of Geo State/The Beacon, Sherwin Diamsay and Joseph Millanes of Road Bike/7-Eleven, Edgar Bolleser of Happy Nuts and Merculio Ramos of My Photos that reached the finish line first before a roaring crowd in the city plaza.

The seven-man pack had identical clocking of two hours and 50 minutes but Quirimit gained a 15-second bonus for ending up the Burlington stage winner.

“The race starts tomorrow (today),” said the 32-year-old Quirimit, winner of the 2003 Tour.

Rendole and Diamsay earned 10-second and seven-second bonuses for coming in second and third, respectively, in the fourth lap of the seven-stage revival of the fabled Tour.

But it was Reynante, son of 1977 and 1980 Tour ng Pilipinas champion Manuel, who remained on top with an aggregate clocking of 14:47.33, although his slim six-second lead over Ramos could easily vanish in the Baguio stages.

Reynante stuck with the 29-year-old Ramos, the 2003 runner-up and a noted sprinter and mountain climber, from start to finish in a day where the 81-man entourage hit another jam in the early going of the race and got slowed down by single-lane roads in Bulacan.

“That’s really my game plan, to stick with Elmo (Ramos) because I know he is just six seconds behind,” said Reynante. “But I have to admit I had to give it an extra effort because I know he is good in sprint.”

He will have to dish out more of that plus stamina and climbing skills as he leads the field in the 172.8-km fifth stage starting in this city and ending in a category climb to the cool mountain-top city and the other tough 195.6-km Baguio-to-Baguio Stage Six highlighted by two dreaded ascents.

“Arnel is right, the race is just starting,” said Reynante.

“Whoever finishes strong in the next two stages will win the Tour,” said Ramos, the 29-year-old bet from Tarlac, the only Filipino who wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de Langkawi.

For finishing in the lead pack, Millanes remained 40 seconds behind Reynante while Mark Guevarra of Road Bike-7-Eleven, Rendole, Dante Cagas of Road Bike/7-Eleven, Hilson Mangahis of Batang Tagaytay and Stage One winner Tomas Martinez and Diamsay also of Road Bike/7-Eleven were 3.39, 4.07, 4.35, 4.39, 5.14 and 5.26 minutes off the lead, respectively.

Ten riders, headed by Quirimit, jumped to No. 10, just about 10 minutes behind, a deficit that could be overhauled in the mountains of Benguet.

“A 10-minute lead is not safe going to Baguio,” said Quirimit.

Mark Julius Bonzo of Geo State/The Beacon heads the race for rookie of the Tour honors with 14:58:39.98 clocking.

Bonzo is the son of the late Romeo Bonzo, the 1984 Tour King and nephew of 1976 titlist Modesto Bonzo.