RP riders vow to shake overall standings

SUBIC , Philippines  – Foreign riders have been lording it over two days into the nine-stage 2010 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) Tour of Luzon.

But for two-time Tour champion Warren Davadilla, these setbacks are only temporary and could be easily neutralized when the ``real’’ race begins tomorrow.

``The tour is far from over. You’ll know who’s really the best in the road race,’’ said Davadilla, skipper of GeoEstate/The Beacon, one of the leading real estate developers and chief supporters of cycling in the country.

Endurance will be the key when the 60 riders from 10 teams go through three consecutive point-to-point massed start races starting tomorrow.

They will negotiate a 133-kilometer ride from Subic to San Jose, Tarlac with a moderate climb to the finish.

Stage 6 will again kick off inside the former American naval base with the riders passing through the Bataan Technopark in Dinalupihan, Bataan before finishing it off in Morong after 130 kms.

Another 130 kms of undulating terrain await the riders in Stage 7 where the eventual Tour champion is expected to emerge.

“The foreigners are strong in the criterium, so we expect them to win in these stages,” said the 35-year-old Davadilla after Canadian Ryan Anderson of Kelly Benefits Strategies ruled Stage 2 (ITT) to take the overall lead from Stage 1 winner James Perry of South Africa.

Former Tour champions Paquito Rivas and Rene Dolosa shared the same observation.

“The early races are short, best suited to foreign riders’ style, so we like our chances in the road races,” said Dolosa, the 1992 and 1995 Tour champion who is also coaching party-list group LPGMA.

“The foreign riders are all sprinters – that’s why they have the edge in the short races. But let’s see if they can survive the heat,” said Rivas, the former Tour Eagle of the Mountain.

Rivas added Baler Ravina of Liquigaz and Smart’s Tomas Martinez are his top bets against the foreign challenge.

Irish Valenzuela of American Vinyl, Ravina, former champion Santy Barnachea of Liquigaz and Tagaytay’s Alfredo Asuncion are the only local riders in the top 10.

Yesterday’s race was a smooth 70km ride inside the Subic International Raceway while another criterium will be held at Clark (84kms) today.