Pangasinan riders 1-2-3
LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—Somewhere along the wind-swept route going to this province, it dawned on track specialist Alfie Catalan that there would never be another high-speed road chase as intense as this stage for the rest of the Tour.
The three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist grabbed the opportunity yesterday and struck hard with a sprint victory in Stage 11, the last flat course before the 2012 Ronda Pilipinas hits the crucial mountain legs.
Mark Galedo kept the red jersey of leadership for the third straight day after coasting along with the other title challengers in the middle of a big wave not far behind Catalan in the 122.2-kilometer leg from Cabanatuan City.
Catalan, proud son of San Manuel, Pangasinan, and nephew of 1988 Tour champion Armando Catalan, outsprinted Arnel Quirimit and Ferdinand Pablo in the last 200 meters, punching the air in delight for the stage victory worth P50,000.
“More than being home here, I needed to win this leg because the race will be harder in the next few days,” Catalan, who dominated the 4 km individual pursuit event in three of the last four SEA Games, said in Filipino.
It was actually a 1-2-3 podium finish for the Pangasinan riders. Quirimit, the 2003 Tour champion, comes from Pozzurubio and Eastern Pangasinan’s Pablo, who also finished third in Stage 2 in Davao City, hails from Umingan.
“This is our territory. They can take any lap they want but not this one,” said the 37-year-old Quirimit, skipper of Western Pangasinan.
Defending champion Santy Barnachea and challengers Harvey Sicam, Lloyd Reynante, Irish Valenzuela and Baler Ravina rode alongside Galedo in the stage.
The 75 surviving riders negotiate two punishing stages in Baguio beginning tomorrow.
Overall, Galedo was 16 seconds ahead of Sicam and 1 minute, 24 seconds in front of Oscar Rindole, who finished in the second group and jumped to third. Reynante trailed Galedo, the 2009 Tour of Luzon champion, by 1:39.
Cris Joven, who started the stage in ninth spot, 4:30 off the pace, vaulted to fifth overall (1:52 behind) while LPGMA-American Vinyl teammate Irish Valenzuela dropped two places to sixth (2:50) in the race for P1-million top individual prize.
Catalan, a 6-foot rider who thrives in long, flat stages, joined a four-man breakaway early in the race that included Tarlac’s Sherwin Diamsay and Orlie Villanueva of V-Mobile.
A bunch of 19 riders reeled them in near the first of two intermediate sprints in Tarlac City and the group remained intact until Bugallon town, some 10 km to the finish.
