Rindole rules stage; Barnachea keeps lead

DAGUPAN, Philippines – Pangasinense rider Santy Barnachea remained on top with the “MVP” yellow jersey but let his provincemates down by allowing the Novo Ecijanos to steal the show in the Pangasinan stop of the 2009 Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions here yesterday.

Oscar Rindole, aided by fellow Nueva Ecija natives Frederick Feliciano and Joel Calderon, ruled the 153-km race starting in Apalit, Pampanga and ending in this cycling hotbed – a stage traditionally dominated by the proud Pangasinense riders.

But not this time as the province’s top bet Barnachea, from Umingan town, opted to coast to the finish line safely, letting Rindole break away from the nine-man lead pack in the final kilometer.

As Rindole surged ahead, Feliciano and Calderon slowed down, and Barnachea decided to abandon the chase, allowing the Guimba, Nueva Ecija native to dash to the finish by his lonesome.

“My main concern was just to keep my lead in the overall individual standings. Since they’re (the Novo Ecijanos) not yet major threats, I didn’t care if they fought for stage honors,” said Barnachea in Filipino.

“I talked to Eric (Feliciano) and Joel (Calderon) for an alliance. The plan was for me to attack then they would be left to defend the other riders in our group,” said Rindole in Filipino.

Things worked as planned for the three Nueva Ecija bets with each rider making big leaps on the leaderboard heading to the halfway stage of the tour presented by Tanduay with Smart-PLDT of Manny V. Pangilinan and Air21 of Bert Lina as major sponsors.

Rindole, a 26-year-old Navyman, jumped to second from fourth, Feliciano moved up to fifth from eighth and Calderon improved to sixth from 10th.

Barnachea lost by 25 seconds to Rindole in the stage but the two-time Tour champion firmed up his hold of the individual lead, his 19-second overnight margin now increased to two minutes flat over his closest pursuer.

Arnel Quirimit, running second behind Barnachea after the second stage in Apalit, got stuck with the peloton and dropped out of the Magic 10, now over nine minutes off the pace.

Baler Ravina, the most aggressive rider in the first two stages, stayed at third after finishing behind the first group composed of Lloyd Reynante, Rene Esteban, Rener Clauna, Irish Valenzuela, Calderon, Feliciano, Barnachea and Reginaldo Calosa.

Ravina showed tremendous strength in the Apalit-to-Apalit run, topping the KOM (King of the Mountain) stage in Olongapo.

Reynante finished with the first group for the second straight stage and jumped to fourth from 11th.

First stage winner Renato Sembrano was at seventh, followed by Warren Davadilla, Nicardo Guanzon and Ronnel Hualda to close out the Top 10 after the Dagupan City finish featuring a scenario said to be quite like that of the Tour de France, Giro Italia and Buelta España finishes in city centers where the area is closed to traffic.

It was a relatively easy ride for the cyclists, now down to 71, who negotiated the trouble-free stage at an average speed of 42.21 kph.

Rindole clocked 3:30:38 in the race run over mostly flat roads littered with rubbish left by Typhoon Emong.

Barnachea was actually not with the lead pack as it hit the Tarlac-Pangasinan boundary.

The yellow jersey holder towed Valenzuela, Calderon and Calosa in a hot chase that had them catching up with Rindole, Esteban, Feliciano, Reynante and Ericson Obosa going into the last 30 kilometers of the race.

Obosa topped the sprint stage in the race then faded away, finishing with the third group that included Ravina and Enrique Domingo.

NOTES: Tour veterans said that, for the first time, the local tour had a smooth finish, thanks to city officials’ decision closing more than three kilometers of a major thoroughfare to traffic. Tour officials expressed gratitude to Mayor Al Fernandez for his support ... Placard-bearing fans and supporters greeted the cyclists upon their arrival here. They cheered for Pangasinense bets but were later disappointed upon knowing that a non-Pangasinense topped the race. Pangasinan has produced champion riders including Rufino Gabot, Mamerto Eden Sr., Edmundo de Guzman, Gonzalo Recodos, Jess Garcia, Teodorico Rimarim, Samson Etrata, Samson Carino, Modesto Bonzo, Jacinto Sicam, Romeo Bonzo, Ruben Carino, Pepito Calip, Bernardo Llentada, Arnel Quirimit and Barnachea... Spyder, Flanax, Blackwater, Isetann, Comet Cycle, Ministop, Ever Bilena, A-Venue, Sansbikeshop, dzSR, Summit Natural Drinking Water and CHEERS emergency team support the tour.