SAN JOSE, Tarlac—Philippine team mainstay Ronald Oranza fought off fatigue in a punishing route for climbers to win Monday’s Stage 1 of the Luzon qualifying leg of the 2015 Ronda Pilipinas presented by LBC.
Oranza, a perennial Ronda contender, raised his arms in delight as he came home all by himself in three hours, and 32 minutes and 1 second following the gruelling 138.9-kilometer ride that began in Tarlac City and ended in a long uphill finale at Monasterio de Tarlac.
Elmer Navarro checked in 16 seconds off Oranza with track specialist Jan Paul Morales finishing third, 40 seconds back, at the finish where a 30-foot statue of the Risen Christ towers over the rolling landscape of Central Luzon.
“It was a difficult climb and I’m exhausted,” said the 22-year-old from Villasis, Pangasinan, who took advantage of the support from Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance riders led by three-time Tour champion Santy Barnachea.
Riding as a team, the Navy bets controlled the pace for the lead pack in the last 15 km, allowing Oranza to break away along with Navarro.
According to Barnachea, Oranza is applying for a spot in the powerhouse Navy roster that already has Lloyd Reynante, Joel Calderon, El Joshua Carino, Rudy Roque, Jhon Mark Camingao and Morales, silver medalist in the recent Asian Cycling Championships.
Although seeded in the Tour proper on Feb. 22 to 28 along with the members of the national team, Oranza said he joined the qualifier to stay in shape.
Mark Galedo, a three-time Tour winner and PH team star, backed out.
Oranza will wear the ruby red overall leader’s jersey in Tuesday’s race set to start and end in Antipolo City.
Jay Lampawog of 7-Eleven/Road Bike Philippines topped the junior race in 2:34:00 followed by Jayson Gupit (0:50 behind) and Joshua Gile (1:20).
Stage Individual Classification
Oranza, Ronald 3:32:01, 2. Elmer Navarro 0:16 behind, 3. Morales, Jan Paul 0:40, 4. Barnachea, Santy 1:10, 5. Camingao, Mark 1:16, 6. Oconer, George 1:41, 7. Martin, Nelson 2:00, 8. Biocarles, Leonel 3:01, 9. Asto, Daniel 5:36, 10. Bordeos, Mark 6:01.