Morales conquers ‘Hell of Marianas’; Galedo 3rd

Podium finishers led by Jan Paul Morales, center, during the 2016 Hell of Marianas in Saipan. Celest Flores-Colina/INQUIRER.net

SAIPAN—Jan Paul Morales overcame several mechanical problems to rule the 2016 Hell of Marianas even as all Filipino bets finished in the top 10 of the 100-kilometer bike race Saturday here.

Despite needing to change wheel early in the course and dealing with a problematic gear the rest of the way, the 30-year-old mustered enough strength to break away in the last eight kilometers to give the Filipinos their first title in the event in only their first try.

The sprint expert from Morong, Rizal clocked three hours, four minutes and 50 seconds while Japan’s Maokoto Morimoto came in 42 seconds behind to wind up in second place. Fellow Filipino bet Mark Lexer Galedo was at third after crossing the line a minute and 27 seconds after Morales.

“I didn’t think I could still win because all I’ve been doing was trying to catch up, ” said the soft-spoken Morales, who lagged behind the leaders upon reaching scenic Banzai cliff after meeting an accident in one of the dangerous descents.

Morales, whose arm and knuckles were full of scrapes, overshot a turn and hit a parked car in the early part of the race. His coach Reinhard Gorantes  managed to change the wrecked wheel but Morales had to stop again some 30 minutes for additional repairs on a fault gear.

Even with only three gears working, Morales survived the last uphill climb at the busy Isa Road and managed to pull away when the course reached the flat roads heading to the finish line at Marianas Resort and Spa.

“I was worried because I thought I wouldn’t be able to catch them. So I gave it my all because once I survived the climbs, I know I can do well when we reach the flat section,” he said.

Galedo, a marked man in the tournament but was even in the lead after the toughest climb the course has to offer, wasn’t too far behind in the home stretch but a mistake in their initial strategy cost him some valuable seconds.

“The Japanese were tailing me all the way even after they crashed, they wouldn’t let me get away,” Galedo recalled. “I was just really delayed a bit in catching up with [Morimoto].” 

But Galedo was satisfied with his bronze medal, saying “what’s important is that the number 1 is from the Philippines.”

Defending champion Ryutaro Nakamura, who worked in tandem with Morimoto, crashed out of the podium and came in fifth (3:13:38) behind Russian Alexandr Dorovskikh (3:07:57). 2014 champion Konstantin Fast did not finish the race.

Filipinos also ruled the Amateur division of the road bike race.

Joe Miller was also one of the top performers for the Philippines, placing sixth in the pro open with a clocking of three hours, 19 minutes and 42 seconds.

Meanwhile, Team Ford Forza Triathlon’s Glenn Gonzales and Ian Solana finished second and third in the amateur  division and eight and 10th overall, respectively, with Jonathan Martin from Guam topping the category.

Gonzales, who is based in Hong Kong, reached the finish line after three hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds while Solana came in at three hours, 48 minutes and three seconds.