Dubai race: Filipino cyclist bags nearly P1 million

Filipino Emil Pablo has earned close to P1 million in one night by simply racing his bike for 70 kilometers.

The rider from Umingan, Pangasinan, pocketed 80,000 dirhams (roughly P950,000) after placing second recently in the Ramadan Cycling Championship, a single-lap race in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Pablo, who had several third-place stage finishes in the Ronda Pilipinas, crossed the line 10 seconds behind Portuguese continental cyclist Vitor Carvalho and edged Canadian Michael Sagermann in the race where the riders were mostly Europeans.

“I feel homesick since I came here (in March). I’ve been trying to shake it off by riding my bike,” said the 29-year-old Pablo, who works as a mechanic at Ridebike Shop in Dubai, in Filipino.

The cash prize that Pablo won was by far the biggest paycheck for a Filipino in a short one-day race.

It was almost the same prize for the overall individual champion of the multistage Ronda Pilipinas.

For his victory, Pablo has been invited to join Giant Propel, a Dubai-based cycling team that competes mostly in Asia and Europe.

“It feels great to stand on the podium in a foreign country. I’ll have to prove that I deserve to be on that team,” said Pablo, who has two sons with his wife, Mary Jean, in Umingan.

Other Filipino riders who crossed the finish line were Virgilio Muena (eighth), Neil Duhay-Kungsod (12th), former Pagcor Casino Filipino Trade Team member Albert Primero (20th) and 2004 Tour Pilipinas champion Ryan Tanguilig (21st).