ZAMBOANGA CITY—Defending individual champion Mark Galedo downplays the possibility of another Ronda Pilipinas crown. But he’s chomping at the bit.
Ranged against a bunch of familiar foes over terrains more torturous than the usual, Galedo sets out to duplicate his victory last year as local cycling’s longest and richest race fires off today in this scenic seaside city for the ride to Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.
“I’m up against the same group of contenders and they’re all capable of winning,” said the Road Bike Philippines skipper who earned a cool P1 million after clinching last year’s title.
LPGMA-American Vinyl’s Irish Valenzuela, Galedo’s runner-up, makes another run for the top prize along with chief contenders Lloyd Lucien Reynante of Philippine Navy, Joel Calderon of V-Mobile/Smart, Cris Joven of LPGMA, Baler Ravina of RoadBike and Santy Barnachea of Navy.
“All of them are climbers and will strike hard in the mountains,” said the 27-year-old Galedo of his main rivals. “It will not be an easy fight.”
In his buildup for a possible third bikathon crown, Galedo and his teammates raced in a series of international meets since August, barely two months after last year’s Ronda, and placed third in a six-stage tour in Vietnam in December.
“I’m 100 percent prepared and hopefully my performance will peak near the end of the race,” said Galedo, whose first victory came in the nine-day 2009 Tour of Luzon.
There are several challenging legs in the 16-stage, 23-day race, but the contenders in the 96-rider field will be looking forward to the punishing climbs to Baguio City and the last two stages in the country’s summer capital.
Considered as the toughest in local cycling, the 133.5-kilometer Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya-to-Baguio stage via the Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges in Stage 14 on Jan. 30 will separate the men from the boys.
The torture doesn’t end there. Stage 15 is a 34-km individual time trial from Pugo, La Union, to Burnham Park before the Ronda ends with an up-and-down 67.5-km criterium in Baguio during the the Panagbenga Festival on Feb. 1.
Today’s relatively flat kick-off leg to Ipil is a smooth 134-km ride that favors the sprinters. The winner of Stage 2 from Ipil to Pagadian City on Sunday earns the right to wear the red jersey, Ronda’s symbol of overall leadership.
Aside from Barnachea, former Tour champions Ryan Tanguilig and Warren Davadilla are also wise-money picks for the P1-million champion’s purse.
“I don’t want to think about it right now,” said Galedo, when asked of his bid to join the ranks of Barnachea and Antonio Arzala (circa 1950s) as the local bikathon’s only three-time winners.
“I’ll start entertaining the thought when I’m already there.”
Tanguilig, the 2004 champion, is making a comeback in the Tour after retiring in 2006.
Others capable of earning huge cash dividends in the Ronda, which offers P7.5 million in cash prizes, are second-generation riders George Oconer, Mark Julius Bonzo and Harvey Sicam, and veteran cyclists Merculio Ramos, Tomas Martinez, Bernard Luzon, Ronnel Hualda, Rudy Roque and Oscar Rindole.