‘Pedring’ resets Stage 3 for Wednesday

ILOILO CITY—Even the country’s biggest cycling tour had to give way to force majeure.

Organizers of the 2011 LBC Ronda Pilipinas decided to reschedule Tuesday’s Stage 3 for Wednesday after the tailend of Typhoon ‘Pedring’ lashed this city with heavy rains and gusty winds that prevented the ferry carrying race personnel and equipment from docking at the port.

All 93 surviving cyclists and team staff were able to board a fast craft Monday evening from Bacolod, where Stage 2 ended.

But their bikes, support vehicles, and equipment plus some 100 crew members only arrived Tuesday morning on board the Ro-Ro vessel Starlite due to the choppy waters.

This was the first time a stage in a local cycling tour was postponed, according to two-time champion and American Vinyl coach Renato Dolosa.

“From my experience, this is the first time,” said Dolosa, who won the crown in 1992 and 1995, in Filipino. “But it’s for the safety of everybody. We travel by sea, so it’s dangerous. The cyclists even like this kind of weather because it’s cool.”

This year’s Tour, the first time in more than a decade to feature Mindanao and Visayas stages, requires ferry transfers in the early stages, including the back-breaking 11-hour trip from Cagayan de Oro to Dumaguete after Saturday’s initial stage.

“Bad weather is not the issue because the typhoon is moving farther north and there’s no storm signal here in Iloilo,” said Tour media director Jocel de Guzman. “But the barge didn’t arrive on time. We have to give the logistics people including the marshals time to rest.

“We can’t risk the safety of the riders because the logistics people are in no condition to do the race today.”

Until 10 a.m. yesterday, organizers were still hoping to push through with the stage, saying the rains and floods don’t matter as long as the “flood waters don’t reach the bike axels that would make it hard to pedal.”

Fortunately, organizers had scheduled two rest days—Wednesday and Thursday—and just decided to move the stage, instead of canceling it entirely.

However, they scrapped the “Linis Dagat” project, originally set for Wednesday, in which the cyclists and the entire caravan are supposed to lead a mass cleanup of Boracay beach.

Dolosa’s squad, including Stage 2 winner Cris Joven, leads the team competition.

“Accidents happen mostly on wet roads and it’s hard on the eyes to race in heavy rains,” added Dolosa.

Two-time champion Santy Barnachea of East Pangasinan will don the red jersey in Stage 3, a 190.5-kilometer journey devoid of any climb that will end in Caticlan.