INQUIRER Sports

BAGUIO CITY ? The man who rode on a borrowed bike proudly made the 2009 Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions all his own.

Joel Calderon, lurking in the fringes through most of the eight stages before taking Thursday's make-or-break Benguet stage, got a lift from his fellow Nuevo Ecijanos to make sure he finally takes the crown six years after competing in the Tour.

He arrived in glory Friday at the foggy Burnham Park after pedaling 195-kilometers Baguio-to-Baguio culminating stage, just a few seconds behind Stage 8 winner Burger King's Baler Ravina, and with closest rival American Vinyl's Lloyd Lucien Reynante safely at bay.

He logged in a total of 29 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds.

``Unang una, nagpapasalamat ako sa mga kababayan ko, humingi ako ng tulong sa kanila upang maitayo ang Nueva Ecija (First of all I want to thank my provincemates, I asked for their help to lift the pride of Nueva Ecija),'' said the 27-year-old Smart Buddy captain.

He was referring to Stage 3 winner Ube Media's Oscar Rindole, Cargohaus' Frederick Feliciano and Go21's Bernard Luzon.

``Malaking sakripisyo nila sa patag (They made big sacrifice in the flat),'' said Calderon.

Like Calderon, Rindole also hails from Guimba, while Feliciano and Luzon are from Aliaga. All of them are skippers of their respective teams and well within the 15 overall.

In contrast, Reynante rued the lack of able support from his teammates.

``Maraming siyang katulong, ako kung meron mahina naman (He had a lot of support, but if I had anything it's not enough),'' said Reynante, son of Tour legend Maui Reynante, who yielded the overall title by one minute and 39 seconds.

Rindole took chores for Calderon during the trip, providing him food and water in transit to make sure he becomes the first rider from the province to win the tour since Armando Catalan captured the 17-stage 1988 Marlboro Tour.

``Napakaganda ng kundisyon ko at strategy (I am in top condition, and my strategy worked),'' Calderon said of his plan to stay close to the leaders before stripping the MVP yellow jersey off four-stage owner Santy Barnachea Thursday when he arrived solo in driving rain and thick fog in the penultimate stage in La Trinidad.

Though he pocketed the P100,000 cash prize, Calderon said he's not about to splurge it on buying a new bike. He said the bike he used here, a standard Trek aluminum frame repainted to look like top-of-the-line Giant, was only borrowed from his nephew.

``Mahirap lang ako sir, kung may mag sponsor sana para makabili ako ng bike (I'm poor. I hope somebody will sponsor for me),'' Calderon said while changing his drenched clothes for the stage ceremony.

Calderon is an onion farmer and tricycle driver by profession, who only picks up a bike to train in the afternoon. He used to be part of the PAGCOR Trade team competing abroad, which allowed him to take 4th place overall in the 2004 Tour, though the team has since disbanded.

His father rode on a motorcycle all the way from Guimba to watch his son bolted toward victory. He's the fifth in a brood of 10.

Stage 2 winner Irish Valenzuela blasted off front in the first climb to the City of Pines via Marcos Highway, but he wasn't able to pull away that much from a big chase group that included Calderon, Reynante, Feliciano, Rindole, Ravina, Stage 5 winner Sherwin Carerra of Tanduay and brothers Elmer Atilano and Emerlito Atilano of U-Freight.

In the final 14 kilometers near the top of Kennon, the Columbia Sportswear rider suffered a flat rear tire and lost precious seconds while his support group changed it.

By the time they passed in front of the landmark Lion's head, the chase group ? strategically spearheaded by Feliciano ? managed to bridge the gap and continued in high cadence toward Baguio City.

Reynante went home with P30,000, while Feliciano bagged third overall, almost eight minutes behind the champion for P20,000.

Ravina, who lorded it over the same route in a recent bikathon, then made a go for stage honors which generally went unchallenged.

Ravina clocked 5:57:48.79 to rule the Stage, followed by Feliciano, Reynante, Ronnel Hualda of American Vinyl and Calderon (48 seconds behind). Rounding out the top 10 stage finishers are Rindole (56 seconds), Carrera (3:03), Emelito Atilano (4:07), Valenzuela (6:29) and Barnachea (11:22).