Pouly rules latest stage, trims Galedo’s lead in Ronda bikefest

BAGUIO CITY – Peter Pouly of Infinite-Singha ruled the toughest stage to date to slice a couple of minutes off the lead of Mark Galedo of 7-Eleven after Stage Nine of the Ronda Pilipinas International 2014 that wheeled off in Dagupan, Pangasinan and ended at the Baguio Convention Center here Monday.

Pouly, a 36-year-old Frenchman, showed he's a force to reckon with in the mountains as he conquered the steep ascents of Kennon Road to win the 102.1-kilometer lap in two hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds for his first stage triumph.

Pouly's superb effort sent him from No. 8 before the stage to No. 3 in the overall individual race with a total clocking of 32:26:46, behind only to Galedo and race sensation Reimon Lapaza of Cyceline-Butuan Mindanao.

And Pouly is doing it practically alone as his team is already decimated with withdrawals and only two left standing – Morgan Siffointe and Vincent Ching Yong.

"I have no more team so I will be contented to just win a stage or two and the King of the Mountain race," said Pouly, who brought along wife Kate of Thailand, where the two is currently based.

Galedo wound up at third in the stage as he and PLDT-Maynilad's Junrey Navarra reached the finish line in 2:58:38.

It was enough though to keep the second edition titlist and Myanmar Southeast Asian Games gold medal winner at the helm for the fourth straight day now with an aggregate time of 32:23:04.

Lapaza, 28, retained his No. 2 spot although he was pushed back by Galedo from being just 14 seconds behind to 1:12 minutes.

Galedo, however, was a little bit more wary about fending off Pouly's serious challenge.

"I will need to race intelligently and stay a little bit more watchful against him (Pouly)," said the 28-year-old Galedo, who received a bonus of P25,000 from 7-Eleven manager Bong Sual for keeping the red jersey, which symbolic of the leader.

PLDT-Maynilad Rustom Lim overtook Galedo in the final stretch to snatch second place in the lap in 2:58:36 that sent him barging from out of nowhere to No. 9 in the overall standings in 32:32:46.

Army's Irish Valenzuela, the reigning Ronda champion, finished 11th in the stage that also catapulted him to the Top 10 for the first time in the race with a time of 32:33:55.

Left in Pouly's wake were Roadbike's Marcelo Felipe (32:27:58), Navy-Standard Insurance's George Oconer (32:28:59) and Santy Barnachea (32:28:59), PLDT-Maynilad's Ronald Oranza (32:30:09) and 7-Eleven's Mark Julius Bordeos (32:30:45).

Pouly's recent triumph hiked his King of the Mountain total to 51 points, or 17 atop Lim with 34 and Galedo with 33.

The team race is also getting equally exciting as 7-Eleven's time advantage has been cut to just 1.22 by Navy-Standard with 97:25:12 against the former's 97:23:50. PLDT-Maynilad has leapt to No. 3 in 97:26:52.

Ronda takes a much-needed rest Tuesday before continuing with the 88.5-km Baguio City criterium.

This 14-stage event is presented by LBC, the largest courier and cargo company, sponsored MVP Sports Foundation, Petron, NLEX, Maynilad, PLDT and Mitsubishi, Versa 2 Way Radio and Standard Insurance and minor sponsor Air Asia Zest and C! Magazine, sanctioned by PhilCycling and backed by Shimano Cannondale bikes, the Department of Tourism and Phl National Police chief Allan Purisima.