LPGMA-Am Vinyl keeps team title by slim margin

TARLAC CITY, Philippines  – LPGMA-American Vinyl narrowly missed a repeat act as Ronda Pilipinas team champions pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks to finish second in the 15-stage bikathon.

From 12th overall out of 16 teams and 18 minutes off the lead, the cycling club owned by businessman Eric Sy and LPGMA partylist representative Arnel Ty steadily surged back to the top one stage at a time and even provided scary moments to eventual champion V-Mobile.

Most of the LPGMA-American Vinyl riders, headed by Ronda king of the mountain Irish Valenzuela and sprint king Cris Joven, suffered cramps in Stage 1 in Sarangani, sending the team down the cellar.

Then, coach Rene Dolosa, who steered the club to three team championships in the past, again weaved his tactical magic.

Joven captured Stage 2 honors in Davao City while Valenzuela and young rider Rudy Roque finished fourth and 14th to kick off LPGMA-American Vinyl’s rise from the depths.

They moved one notch up and though still 14:43 off the pace, LPGMA-American Vinyl surged to eighth after the third stage in Butuan City and struck hard in Stage 8 in Lucena to climb to sixth in the first toughest climb in Atimonan, Quezon.

The onslaught of Dolosa’s team continued as it improved to fifth after the Antipolo leg (Stage 9) and leap-frogged to second overall, just 5:05 off the pace, on the strength of Valenzuela’s podium effort in Baguio City and the top 10 performances of Rustom Lim and Joven.

At the end of the individual time trial in Stage 13 covering 21.5 kilometers from Tuba, Benguet to Burnham Park, Dolosa and his riders shaved off two more minutes and were just 2:52 behind the leader.

The teamwork of LPGMA-American Vinyl was in full display yesterday when the squad gave Nueva Ecija some anxious moments in the race for the P1-million team champion’s purse.

They eventually missed retaining the team crown by two minutes and 41 seconds, but still Dolosa was very proud of the effort.

``More than the skills, strategy and team work, it was the desire of my riders that made it possible,’’ said the two-time Tour champion.

Today’s final lap is a 90-kilometer criterium on Roxas Boulevard and no attacks are expected on that flat course.