INQUIRER Sports

APALIT, Pampanga - Renato Sembrano poured it on in the last 600 meters to nip two highly regarded rivals and rule Stage 1 of the Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions Friday that hit the road surprisingly under clear summer skies.

Sembrano crossed the finish line just ahead of Merculio Ramos Jr. and 1998 Tour champion Warren Davadilla, clocking three hours, 24 minutes and 48.41 seconds for the initial 165-kilometer stage from The Fort in Taguig City.

?I suffered cramps in the last 10 kilometers because of the difficult route but I poured it on in the last 600 meters,? said the 29-year-old rider from Mangaldan, Pangasinan, who is competing in only his second Tour since 2005.

Rookie Mark Julius Bonzo, son of 1983 Tour champion Romeo, failed to keep up with the top three finishers in the homestretch and finished 21 seconds behind in the company of another veteran, Santy Barnachea.

With the strong start of Sembrano and Bonzo and with skipper Sherwin Carrera coming in as the third man, Tanduay grabbed the lead in the team race with an aggregate clocking of 10:15:33.

Wow Magic Sing was second in 10:20:16 followed by Mail and More (10:20:48).

Typhoon Emong battered Northern Luzon Thursday night, but the bikathon enjoyed perfect weather right from the elaborate kickoff ceremonies graced by Air21 boss and PhilCycling chair Emeritus Bert Lina and his wife Sylvia, Smart-PLDT head Manny V. Pangilinan, Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga and Tagaytay Mayor Abraham Tolentino, who succeeded Lina as PhilCycling president.

Ramos, the Mail and More skipper, was not surprised by Sembrano?s strength in the sprints.

?He competed in Malaysia and Thailand, that?s why he?s all fired up,? Ramos said.

Another former champ, Arnel Quirimit of Columbia Sportswear, finished sixth in the company of Nicardo Guanzon of Ube Media with a time of 3:25:27.92.

Sembrano bagged P5,000 as stage winner plus another P5,000 from Pangilinan.