Barnachea, Ravina top choices in LBC Ronda

Manila, Philippines - Two-time Tour champion Santy Barnachea and mountain king Baler Ravina loom as the chief rivals for individual honors as they lead East Pangasinan to the team crown in the 2011 LBC Ronda Pilipinas, the biggest cycling event in a decade, starting Sept. 24 in Cagayan de Oro.

Barnachea goes into the LBC Ronda Pilipinas, the biggest cycling revival since the last Marlboro Tour in 1998, as the rider to beat with his title win in the four-leg Tour of Calabarzon in 2002 and the eight-stage Padyak Pinoy in 2006.

The 34-year-old sprint specialist from Umingan, Pangasinan has partnered with old rival and friend Ravina, the undisputed king of the mountains, in their quest for individual and team glory in the 12-stage, 20-day tour sponsored by LBC Express Inc., the leading courier firm.

While Barnachea has established himself as king of the road, Ravina remains as the strong bet for the king-of-the-mountains title, having ruled the excruciating Baguio-to-Baguio leg the last time in the 2009 Padyak Pinoy.

The duo will slug it out for the champion’s purse of P1 million from among 96 riders suiting up for 16 teams in the P7 million, 1,650-km tour of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

LBC Express Inc. chief executive officer Fernando Araneta said all prizes will be tax-free, making the individual champion an instant millionaire, with the second placer winning P500,000, third P250,000, fourth P125,000 and fifth P100,000 with sixth to 20th placers receiving P90,000 to P5,000. The team winner earns P1 million and the second P500,000, with prizes scaled down to the last-placed team which earns P50,000.

Providing support to the duo are Ferdinand Pablo, Salvador Salvador, Jesus Garcia and Juancho Callorina, who also hurdled the qualifying race in Tarlac last summer.

Nueva Ecija will be parading Joel Calderon, a champion of latest vintage, who was crowned Padyak Pinoy king in 2009, and fellow Padyak Pinoy veteran Oscar Rindole from Guimba, Nueva Ecija.

Providing support to the six-man team from the Central Plains of Luzon are tour veterans Alfredo Asuncion, Ricardo Guanzo, Rey Martin and Jay Tolentino.

Other teams on the tour are Central and West Pangasinan, Tarlac, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Sur, NCR, Southern Tagalog, Bicolandia, Davao, North and Central Mindanao, Cebu and Negros.

American Vinyl and 7-11 are joining as commercial teams while the Philcycling Association is fielding a national selection composed of under-23 riders.