Mancebo stamps class in stage one

Francisco Mancebo Perez showed how riders get it done in the Tour de France, engineering a solo breakaway finish in the opening stage of Ronda Pilipinas on Friday in Iloilo City.

“I’m happy with this victory but I need to recover for tomorrow’s (Saturday) individual time trial,” said the 42-year-old Spaniard, who was fourth overall in the 2005 Tour de France.

Mancebo, who rides for Matrix Powertag Japan, crossed the line in five hours and 7.02 minutes after a 197.6-kilometer ride.

The runner-up in the 2004 Vuelta a España, Mancebo bolted out of the pack early with Mongolian Maral-Erdene Batmunkh of Terenganu on the lone ascent of the day in Antique.

Defending champion Ronald Oranza of Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance arrived three minutes and 52 seconds behind Mancebo.