Pedregosa tops Sumatra Duathlon

CARLO Pedregosa captured the men’s elite crown of the South Sumatra ITU Duathlon Premium Asian Cup 2013 in Palembang, Sumatra in Indonesia over the weekend.

Pedregosa, the son of former Gintong Alay 1,500-meter standout Edgardo, ruled the grueling 10K run-40K bike-5K run in two hours, 10 minutes and 46 seconds.

After building a two-minute lead early in the bike leg, Pedregosa kept his distance from closest pursuer Shahrom Abdullah of Malaysia, who settled for the silver medal with a time of 2:11.45.

Robeno Javier finished third and Robinson Esteves secured sixth spot in the event that drew 200 racers from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.

“I told them to pour it on early,” said Edgardo, also the national coach.

Tom Carrasco, president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, said the victory showed that the Philippines remains dominant in the growing sport. Jasmine W. Payo