Rested Ravina faces severe test vs rivals

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  – Baler Ravina of Road Bike Phl hopes to come out strong from a one-day rest as he tries to keep the overall lead against a slew of pursuers in today’s Stage Five of the second LBC Ronda Pilipinas from here to Tacloban City.

“It’s still too early to tell and anything can still happen,” said Ravina, 30, who surged ahead of the stellar field by topping the Tour’s longest lap – the 277-km Tagum-Butuan Stage Three, in Filipino.

But Ravina, who is coming off an impressive title run in the four-stage Le Tour in Luzon last month, said he won’t lose sleep thinking of how to protect his slim lead over V-Mobile’s Oscar Rindole and American Vinyl’s Cris Joven and hold on to the red jersey, symbolic of the overall leadership.

“I will cherish the moment by holding on and protecting the red jersey as much as I can,” said Ravina, a former three-time King of the Mountain winner.

Ravina has pooled a 17:22.25 clocking after four laps with Rindole 30 seconds behind Joven 49 seconds off.

Truly, with riders from as down as 30th just less than 10 minutes off the pace and with 11 more laps to tackle, including the tough Lingayen-Baguio Stage 12 and the Tuba-Baguio Stage 13, the title chase remains anybody’s race.

“I made it here now so I might as well try to keep it and should I relinquish it, I hope I will not fall that far,” Ravina added.

But to remain on top, Ravina will not only have to match his pursuers’ power and stamina but will need to draw support from his teammates the rest of the way, starting with today’s 146.6km Ormoc-Tacloban Stage Five, kicking off the Visayan phase of this 15-stage, 20-day annual cycling spectacle.

“Of course, I will need my teammates to back me up and support me,” said Ravina referring to skipper and 2009 Tour of Luzon champ Mark John Lexer Galedo, Stage Four runner-up Ericson Obosa, Bryan Sepnio, Jason Garillo and John Mark Camingao.

But it’s easier said than done as the Tour’s big guns, headed by reigning champion Santy Barnachea of Navy A-Standard, last year’s runner-up Joel Calderon of V-Mobile, third placer George Oconer of Phl Under-23 and even former Tour kings Arnel Quirimit of West Central Pangasinan and Warren Davadilla of Air Force, are ready to strike anytime.

“The race hasn’t started,” said Barnachea, seeking to become the first four-time winner of the Tour.

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

“The race hasn’t started yet,” said the 20-year-old Oconer, son of former two-time Olympian Norberto who sprang the biggest surprise last year by finishing third overall.

“My plan is to just be there near the top and wait for my opportunity,” said the 36-year-old Quirimit, the 2003 Tour winner who is currently at No. 9 with 17:24.02.

Barnachea, Calderon and Oconer, for their part, are obviously bidding for time at Nos. 15, 19 and 17 with clockings of 17:25.34, 17:26.34 and 17: 26.29, respectively.

V-Mobile’s Rey Martin is in fourth with 17:23.41 and One Tarlac’s Joseph Millanes in fifth with 17:24.02.

The 37-year-old Davadilla shot his way back into contention as he climbed from 95th out of 96 Thursday, to No. 64 in Stage 2 and No. 45 in Stages Three and Four, and perhaps closer in the coming laps.

“I joined here to win,” said the winner of the Marlboro Tour in its last staging in 1998 and its revival Tour seven years later.

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 wrecked a massive havoc that fell from the top of the heap down to No. 16 in 17:26.00.

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).

In the team race, the Calderon-skippered V-Mobile squad kept the lead with 42:11.16 with Mindanao just behind with 42:12.23 and Road Bike with 42:13.30.

The field took advantage of the day-off after a two-hour sea travel from Surigao to Leyte and another couple of hours of land travel to Ormoc where Stage Five unfurls.