Lapaza steals red jersey from Galedo

SUBIC--From obscurity to cycling greatness.

Reimon Lapaza of Cycleline-Butuan Mindanao completed a massive turnaround, snatching the overall lead and what could be the Ronda Pilipinas International 2014 title from Mark Galedo of 7-Eleven with a ride to remember after the penultimate Stage 13 on Saturday that started in Clark and concluded in front of Harbour Point Hotel here.

Lapaza, 28, towed the breakaway group approaching the mountain in Morong, Bataan and finished with Frenchman Peter Pouly of Infinite-Singha and Navy-Standard Insurance's George Oconer that checked in at fourth in the lap with same three-hour, 35-minute and 13 second clocking.

It catapulted the proud Butuan City native from second to the top with an aggregate time of 43:58:58 as Galedo faded and fell to third overall with 44:00:16 behind No. 2 Pouly with 44:00:10, turning today's last lap--an 89-kilometer Marikina City criterium--into his coronation ceremony.

The fomer motorcycle mechanic entered the finish line and met the sizeable weekend crowd headed by LBC and Ronda big boss Dino Araneta, with a smile and, in celebration knowing he had just grabbed the symbolic leader's jersey, threw his plastic water bottle into the air.

His Cycleline-Butuan Mindanao teammates, also in pandemonium, then joined him and carried him on his shoulders, shouting "La-pa-za, La-pa-za, La-pa-za."

After all, Lapaza has just wrote history.

"I never imagined I will win here, it's beyond my dreams," said a jubilant Lapaza, who has taken up cycling from being a motorcycle mechanic the same year this annual bikathon held its inaugural race three years back, in Filipino.

PLDT-Maynilad's Rustom Lim topped the stage after outsprinting last year's champion Irish Valenzuela of Army and Lloyd Lucien Reynante of Navy-Standard in another pulsating finish in identical time of 3:35:13.

Navy-Standard, a squad captained by first Ronda king Santy Barnachea, shared the spotlight with Lapaza as it snatched the overall team lead from Galedo and his 7-Eleven team after it leapfrogged from No. 3 to No. 1 with a total clocking of 132:10:57 thanks to strong efforts by Reynante and Oconer.

7-Eleven fell to slid all the way down to No. 3 with 132:14:22, a whopping 12.09 minutes off the pace and more than nine minutes below No. 2 PLDT-Maynilad, which was buoyed by Lim's first stage triumph, with 132:14:22.

Like Lapaza, Barnachea's bunch should use Stage 14 as its victory lap.

"It's us for the taking now," said the 36-year-old Barnachea, who has focused on helping his team win the team crown after losing the individual lead to Galedo in the Lucena-Antipolo Stage 6 more than a week ago.

While Lapaza and Navy-Standard jumped for joy in victory, Galedo and his 7-Eleven team sulked in the team tent, perhaps contemplating what went wrong and what didn't turn out right.

It was specifically painful for the 28-year-old Galedo, who had it all wrapped up after a spectacular podium finish in the San Fernando-Baguio Stage 11 Wednesday that gave him a 2.17-minute cushion against Lapaza.

Then Lapaza happened.
So heartbroken was Galedo that he found no words to describe the devastation caused by this unlucky Stage 13 performance.

How could he not, Galedo and his team has just lost everything.
Rounding up the top 10 were Oconer (44:03:19), Roadbike's Marcelo Felipe (44:05:36), Lim (44:07:31), Navy-Standard's Santy Barnachea (44:09:40), Valenzuela (44:10:27), Reynante (44:14:53) and PLDT-Maynilad's Ronald Oranza (44:15:44).

Ronda is being presented by LBC, the country's biggest cargo and courier company, sponsored by 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.