Much awaited cycling event held in Lian, Batangas

“Who would have thought … “ exclaimed the Baterna Brothers, as the final award was given at the recently concluded Tour of Matabungkay (TOM) 2011. With a little over a month of frantic preparation, TOM, on its 7^th year, was successfully held in Lian, Batangas, last month.

The most awaited cycling event of the year was participated in by over 20 executive cycling teams represented by over 200 local and foreign cyclists who competed in the following categories: Category A, Category B, Women’s and Junior’s.

Four different stages were designed to test each rider’s strength, endurance, power, stamina and spirit. “We came, we saw, we suffered” overheard from a foreign rider after the three day race.

The morning of Day One, held on Oct. 21, featured a 90-kilometer road race where riders maneuvered tricky climbs combined with headwinds.  British rider Lee Rodgers (Mossimo Cycling Team) topped  Cat A level, Jorge Sembrero (Business Mirror) won in Cat B, Michelle Barnachea (Franzia Wines Cycling Team) bagged the Women’s level, and Arnold Marco (VG & GE) grabbed Junior’s category.

In the afternoon of the same day, a 30-km Team Time Trial was held. Franzia Cycling Team dominated Cat A with Colin Robertson, Mark Cook and Pinpin Uy clocking at the finish line with a time of 41 minutes and 42 seconds.  They beat Mossimo Cycling Team by three seconds and the BVTC JAC Motors by 3 minutes and 55 seconds.

Category B winners were BVTC JAC Motors, Business Mirror and Sel-jay Sports, taking the first , second and third spots respectively.

Day Two (Oct. 22) featured the much-awaited 120-km Road Race where riders started with 15-km neutral ride after which they were released climbing the slopes of Tuy, Balayan, Calaca, Payapa, Batulao. Amidst fatigue and the heat, the following emerged as stage winners: Lee Rodgers (Mossimo) for Cat A, Dante Bayani Delos Santos (JR Hauling Services) for Cat B, Michelle Barnachea (Franzia) for Women’s and Kenneth Lacuesta (Green Planet 7Lakes) for Junior’s.

The final day on Oct. 23 featured a 40km Individual Time Trial which was dominated by Colin Robertson from Franzia, a former Scottish National Champion. He averaged an impressive 45.8km/hr pace throughout the race. Cat B winner was Clemente Vidamo from BVTC JAC Motors, Michelle Almanzor (7Eleven) for Women’s and Ryan Bravo (7Eleven) for Junior’s.

“We hope that everyone enjoyed the race. Next year will surely be bigger and better with more foreign riders coming to the Philippines to compete. We no longer need to go abroad to race with the best. This has indeed changed the landscape of Philippine executive cycling,” say the Baterna Brothers, the face behind TOM 2011.

Presented by AXN-Asia in cooperation with Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel and Blue Magnet Marketing Solutions Inc., the date for 2012 has already been set on Oct. 19-21, 2012.

Other sponsors include MOSSIMO, Aquavit, Pocari Sweat, Rudy Project, Franzia Wines, Green Planet, Bio Essence, Slimzone, FiveFingers, Beacon GeoEstate, Manila Beer and Manila Beer Light, Cycling News Asia, Cyclingtime.com Asia, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Malaya Business Insight, BusinessMirror, MultiSport, Total Fitness, OneSport, UNO Magazine, Inquirer.net, AirFM, CrossOver and Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

For details, contact Tel +6392 3697633 / email [email protected] / Facebook: Tour Matabungkay / Like our page Tour of Matabungkay.