Ronald Lomotos tears away by his lonesome during one of the climbs in Stage 9. With his Navy Standard Insurance and national teammates ready to protect him, Lomotos is expected to turn Stage 10 into a coronation ride. —RONDA PILIPINAS
Ronald Lomotos came up with a memorable ride on Saturday and, barring any unfortunate accident, will turn Sunday’s criterium-with-a-twist into a ceremonial coronation cruise.
The 26-year-old Navy Standard Insurance standout dusted off the opposition in the torturous uphill routes of the Kayapa mountains in Nueva Vizcaya and the steep, winding ascent to Baguio City, arriving all alone at the finish line of the summer capital’s Burnham Park to snatch the overall lead—and perhaps the crown—in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas.
“I long dreamed of this and I thank the Lord he gave me this opportunity,” said Lomotos, who took up the sport when he was still seven years old, after the death of his father Nicholas.
Lomotos covered the 174.4-kilometer ninth stage in six hours, five minutes and four seconds and swallowed whole what was at the start of the day a nine-minute deficit in the general classification race. Lomotos zoomed to the top of the standings with an aggregate time of 34:13:48.
He now leads teammate Ronald Oranza by 21 seconds.
Oranza, the 2018 Ronda champion, came in fourth in the stage in 6:14:22 and slipped to second, stripping off the leader’s red jersey that he had worn since a Stage Six triumph in Tagaytay last Tuesday.
Two other Navymen—El Joshua Carino (34:32:42) and Jeremy Lizardo ( 34:42:53)—were at Nos. 3 and 4.
Up-and-down route
Sunday’s criterium—the final stage of the race—could present a bit of a challenge for riders as the 3.1km route will whip through the up-and-down concrete of Baguio’s famed Session Road, a first in the local cycling circuit. So while the title may be in the bag for Lomotos, there might be a little work needed to zip that bag up.
But team insiders said that Navy Standard Insurance riders, most of whom are members of the national team, will protect Lomotos during the criterium to make sure the title doesn’t slip away.
Lomotos, Oranza and Navy Standard Insurance riders George Oconer and Jhon Mark Camingao are part of the national squad for the coming Southeast Asian Games and are four of the five cyclists who will team up for the country in the massed start/road event.
This could be the reason why Lomotos crossed the finish line teary-eyed—he is one disaster-free day from cashing the P1 million champion’s check that will help provide his family with a massive income boost.
“I took up cycling to help my mom (Zenaida), who was making ends meet as a caregiver,” said Lomotos.
Joshua Pascual and Joshua Mari Bonifacio of Excellent Noodles ended up second and third in the stage with identical times of 6:13:31, about eight minutes behind Lomotes, and crashed the top 10. Bonifacio is now No. 5 in 34:34:25 and Pascual at No. 8 in 34:38:58.
Morales, the overall leader in the early stages, succumbed in the ascents and slipped from No. 2 to No. 7 in 34:37:33 and kissed his title chances goodbye.
It will also be a coronation ride for the Navy cyclists, who are way ahead in the team classification with a total time of 100:03:32 ahead of Excellent Noodles (100:40:28) and Team Nueva Ecija (102:56:30).