Mark Lester Galedo, Marella Salamat and Jay Lampawog shone brightest among the country’s top guns of cycling by ruling the individual time trial (ITT) races of the Philippine National Cycling Championships for Road inside Subic Bay Freeport.
Galedo clocked 43 minutes and 6.876 seconds to win the gold medal in the men’s ITT raced over a 31-km course, snatching in the process the coveted national champion’s jersey from PhilCycling.
The former SEA Games gold medalist also banked the top purse of P50,000 from PRU Life UK, which bankrolled the PRUride PH 2018.
Galedo’s fellow national team members George Oconer and Rustom Lim completed the podium.
“I will proudly wear this jersey,” said Galedo, who, like all the other 25 riders who raced the ITT, had to pedal through Subic’s strong winds that rushed from almost all directions along the entire route.
Pru Life UK senior vice president and chief marketing officer Allan Tumbaga, world top-ranked Filipino-American cyclist Coryn Rivera, Prudential PLC Head of Sponsorship Diane Pender and PhilCycling secretary general Billy Sumagui awarded the prizes to the winners.
Salamat, the SEA Games ITT queen, was hardly challenged in her pet event and won the 21-km women’s race in 34:49.163. She also grabbed the P50,000 prize.
Taiwan’s Chng Ting Ting settled for the silver medal while Jermyn Prado, winner of the women’s road race last Friday, was third.
Lampawog, on the other hand, took the under-23 title, crossing the finish of the event also raced on the men’s course in 45:02.038.