INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - Tour veteran Placido Valdez and son Gerald dominated the maiden Tour de Cagayan cycling marathon by finishing 1-2 overall recently.

The older Valdez, five-time runner-up in the now-defunct Marlboro Tour, finished the 746-kilometer bikathon from Pasig City to Sta. Ana, Cagayan, in 11 hours, 37 minutes and 12 seconds, beating his 20-year-old son by a mere three seconds.

Rolly Villamor wound up third in 12:30:17.

The 41-year-old Valdez topped the first stage from Pasig to Tarlac as well as the fifth and final stage from Tuguegarao to Sta. Ana to pocket the P100,000 champion’s purse. He also won P10,000 for his twin stage wins.

Valdez ruled the 179-kilometer final stage in 5:08:00.

Gerald pocketed P75,000 while Villamor won P50,000. All finishers received P10,000.

“My father and I will continue participating in the races,” said Gerald in Filipino, adding they will use their earnings to renovate their house and purchase new bicycles.

Gerald, who began participating in cycling tours in the early 1990s, excelled in the sprints but had to rely on his father’s tested tactics to finish runner-up in the five-day mini-tour.

“We had a hard time in the last leg because it was windy,” he said. “But I was with my father, so it kind of pushed me to do well.”

Seventy riders competed in the event organized by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) in cooperation with the Cycling Organizers Association of the Philippines (Coap).

Benito Lopez, a 30-year-old from Bocaue, Bulacan, who topped the 148 km second lap from Tarlac to Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, in 3:26:27, earned the Mountain King title.

Michael David, 21, ruled the third stage from Aritao to Santiago City and the fourth leg from Nueva Vizcaya to Santiago City, with times of 1:41:15 and 3:53:31, respectively.