Morales wins stage 4; Ravina keeps lead

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines – Tour rookie Jan Paul Morales of Navy A-Standard stole the thunder from the favorites by ruling the roadwork-filled Stage Four even as Road Bike Phl’s Baler Ravina retained the overall lead after a massed finish that saw the 66-man peloton check in with the same time here yesterday.

Morales, who copped a pair of bronze medals in last year’s SEA Games, outsprinted Road Bike’s Ericson Obosa and V-Mobile’s Orlie Villanueva and the rest in the last 200 meters to snare his first ever lap victory on his first try on the Tour.

“It’s a nice feeling winning my first ever lap in Ronda,” said the 26-year-old Morales, from Marikina City and a Seaman 2nd class, in Filipino.

With his jersey unzipped due to searing heat, Morales raised his arms in triumph as he acknowledged the cheers from the crowd in front of the Surigao City Hall.

Like the rest of the main pack, Morales clocked three hours, one minute, 51.9 seconds but will get a 10-second deduction and the top lap purse worth P50,000 for topping the 118.7-kilometer race that unfolded in Butuan City, rumbled through a long, narrow stretch of unpaved roads and ended in this port city that is also the capital of Surigao del Norte.

The 33-year-old Obosa, one of the country’s finest sprinters with two international and three local sprint titles, was in contention to snatch his first lap triumph in Ronda but was slowed down by a shallow hole in the final 200m stretch and fell behind Morales in their mad dash to the finish.

“I was on my way to overtaking him (Morales) but I ran into a hole somewhere near the finish line and just lost my chance,” said Obosa, a native of Manaoag, Pangasinan who also finished winless in last year’s race. He pocketed P25,000.

Meanwhile, Villanueva, the 30-year-old protege of former tour sprint king Bernard Luzon, said he was just fortunate enough to record his second podium finish in this 15-stage, 20-day edition after topping last week’s prologue, team time trial, in Sarangani Province.

“I was hoping to get me a second lap win but I came short, maybe I’ll try again in some other stages,” said the 30-year-old Villanueva, who has now P27,500 for his third place effort in Stage Four and his prologue win.

Although it was Morales, Obosa and Villanueva who emerged the winners, it was the group headed by Ravina, Southern Luzon-Bicol’s Darrell Ricafrente, Mindanao’s Riemon Lapaza, East Pangasinan’s Ferdinand Pablo, Army-RC Cola’s Alfie Catalan and John Mier, One Tarlac’s Sherwin Diamsay and Joseph Millanes that broke away from the pack in the first 40 kms.

They stayed as one in the next 50 kms before they were joined in by the main group, allowing Morales to cut loose when it mattered to top the leg.

“They were trying to convince me to alternate with them in the lead but I wouldn’t allow it because they were the ones that would benefit from it, not me or my team,” said the 25-year-old Lapaza, a Butuan City pride who trained for one whole year to make up for a mediocre last place finish last year.

The mass finish allowed the 30-year-old Ravina, who is riding the crest of his title romp in the four-stage Le Tour in Luzon last month, to keep the red and leader’s jersey for the second straight day with a total time of 17:22.25, ahead of V-Mobile’s Oscar Rindole (17.22.55), American Vinyl’s Cris Joven (17:23.14), V-Mobile’s Rey Martin (17:23.41) and Millanes (17:24.02).

“They’re watching me now so I just tried to just be there with everyone,” said Ravina.

 whose win in the Tagum-Butuan City Stage Three, considered the longest lap (227km) Saturday propelled him from out of nowhere to the solo lead.

Former Tour king Arnel Quirimit of West/Central Pangasinan kept his place in the top 10 at ninth overall in 17:24.19.

“My plan is to just be there near the top and wait for my opportunity,” said the 36-year-old 2003 Tour winner.

And so are the reigning champion Santy Barnachea and last year’s runners up V-Mobile’s Joel Calderon and Phl Under-23’s George Oconer, who remained at Nos. 15, 19 and 17 with clockings of 17:25.34, 17:26.34 and 17: 26.29, respectively.

“The race is too early,” said the 36-year-old Barnachea, last year’s millionaire champion seeking to become the first ever four-time winner of the Tour.

“I’m just looking for the right timing,” the 32-year-old Calderon, who won the Tour in 2010 and finished second last year, said.

“The race hasn’t started yet,” said the 20-year-old Oconer, son of former two-time Olympian Norberto who pulled off a surprise third place finish overall last year.

In the Top 10 and still in title contention were Mindanao’s Tots Oledan (17:24.05), Road Bike’s Mark John Lexer Galedo (17:24.08), Mindanao’s Dexter Nonato (17:24.16) and Metro Manila’s Ronald Gorantes (17:24.28).

Stage One winner and former two-day leader Tomas Martinez of One Tarlac was with the peloton but his disappointing Stage Three effort dropped him from the top of the heap to No. 16 with 17:26.00.

Veteran Warren Davadilla of Air Force, 37, made his move in the sprint races by gaining seven precious points to jump from outside the top 10 to second with 29 points, just four points behind Joven with 33.

Davadilla’s gradual climb from the bottom was delayed for a moment as he remained at No. 45 after he opened the race with a 95th of 96 finish Thursday, to No. 64 in Stage 2 and No. 45 in Stage Three.

“I just want them to realize that Warren Davadilla is still Warren Davadilla,” said the winner of the Marlboro Tour in its last staging in 1998 and its revival Tour seven years later.

Rounding up the 20 were Eastern Pangasinan’s Harvey Sicam (17:25.10), One Tarlac’s Daniel Asto (17:25.10), V-Mobile’s Alfredo Asuncion (17:25.23), West-Central Pangasinan’s Reynaldo Navarro (17:25.29), Phl Under-23’s Julius Mark Bonzo (17:26.30) and Navy A-Standard’s Eusebio Quinones (17:27.19).

Like in the individual standings, there had been no changes in the team category as the Calderon-skippered V-Mobile squad remained on top with 42:11.16 with Mindanao in second at 42:12.23 and Road Bike in third at 42:13.30.

Oconer continued to lead the Young Rider race while Galedo, who won the Tour of Luzon three years ago, the King of the Mountain event.

After a gruelling Mindnao phase, the Ronda will take a one-day breather and will travel to Ormoc City for the Visayan part that would be ushered in by the 146.6km Stage Five that will conclude in Tacloban City.