Cayubit finishes as Visayas No. 1 qualifier

BACOLOD, Philippines – Boots Ryan Cayubit stuck with his chief rivals in the all-flat final stage to emerge the Visayas qualifying leg champion of the Ronda Pilipinas 2015 presented by LBC here yesterday.

Cayubit, who zoomed ahead with a runner-up finish in the tough Bacolod-Bacolod Stage Two, checked in at fifth in the 120km Bacolod-Cadiz-Bacolod Stage Three but turned in the same time as lap winner Mark Julius Bonzo in three hours, seven minutes, seven seconds to score a breakthrough victory.

Cayubit, 23, pooled aggregate time of 12:37.01, over three minutes ahead of runner-up Marcelo Felipe, who had 12:40.07, while third placer Rey Martin of Team Cebu assembled a 12:42.35 clocking.

He took the top P50,000 prize and clinched a berth in the Championship round set Feb. 22-27 from Pase Greenfield City in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to Baguio City.

“I will relish my biggest victory since I took up cycling. It’s a great feeling. Hope I could continue to race like this in the championship round,” said Cayubit, who impressed 7-Eleven’s Vic Paterno and Bong Sual in Ronda’s inaugural staging four years ago.

Bonzo outsprinted his rivals in a mass finish to claim his second lap win in Ronda which he later dedicated to his late father, 1983 Marlboro Tour king Romeo. The younger Bonzo first won in the third edition in Vigan two years ago.

“I will not be here without my father so this one’s for him,” said the 25-year-old Bonzo, now member of the LBC and MVP Sports Foundation-sponsored national team.

Rounding up the top 10 in the three-stage qualifier that started down in Dumaguete City are Army’s Irish Valenzuela (12:43.23), Ravina (12:43.27), Cris Joven (12:45.03), Leonel Dimaano (12:43.03), Junrey Navarra (12:50.35) and Alvin Benosa (12:54.38).

A crash involving three riders and a motorcycle-riding race marshal in the last two kms marred the closing race. Two of those involved were 7-Eleven’s Baler Ravina and Avegail Rombaon, a member of the Singapore Southeast Asian Games-bound national women’s team competed as a guest participant.

“It hurts a lot but I think it’s nothing serious,” said Ravina, a veteran mountain-climber specialist.

The race goes up North with the Luzon qualifier in Tarlac City on Monday and Antipolo the next day.

Qualifiers will then move to the Championship round where they will join Reimon Lapaza, the national team headed by Mark Galedo and a composite European team for the top purse worth P1 million.

The race is presented by LBC and supported by major sponsors the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation, Petron and Mitsubishi and minor sponors Cannondale, Standard Insurance, Tech1 Corp., Maynilad and NLEX and sanctioned by PhilCycling under Cavite Congressman Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino with TV5 and Sports Radio as media partners.

For updates, check Ronda Pilipinas’ official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/RondaPilipinas, and Twitter account, @rondapilipinas.