Philippine Sports News and Updates

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines - Joel Calderon and Lloyd Reynante, showing tremendous climbing skill, finished one-two in the Ilocos-Benguet ride yesterday, emerging the men to beat in the closing Baguio-to-Baguio stage of the 2009 Padyak Pinoy Tour of Champions today.

Calderon stayed with the pack from Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Bauang, La Union before unleashing the full might of his riding power in their Naguilian road trek, outclassing just everybody en route to a solo finish under steady rains in this Benguet capital known as the Salad Bowl of the Philippines.

It was a wet, wild and wooly finish, prompting a number of riders to file protests for losing precious time on riding on wrong routes that marred the penultimate stage.

Calderon and Reynante themselves took a wrong turn going to La Trinidad, riding for almost 1,000 meters before being advised of the error. Former champion Arnel Quirimit didn’t get the right direction in another group, enduring a longer and tougher route that sent him further down the leader board. The lung-busting and chaotic stage sparked a major shakeup in the overall individual standings.

Santy Barnachea surrendered the “MVP” yellow jersey even before the Naguilian climb as he suffered an early flat tire and struggled to the finish with a heavy wheel replacement.

“Ang lakas umararo ni Joel (Joel rode hard),” said Reynante on the microphone at the finish, hailing Calderon, who is also a farmer in his native town of Guimba in Nueva Ecija. “Of course I wanted to win but I was also keen on giving my team a lift in the team competition,” said Calderon, a former member of the defunct Casino Filipino trade team leading the Smart Buddy team in this eight-stage event presented by Tanduay with Smart PLDT and Air21 as major sponsors.

Covering the 163-km stage in 5:9’33.591, Calderon jumped from sixth place to No. 1, ahead by a minute and 45 seconds over Reynante. The new makeup of the Top 10 after the seventh stage has Feliciano (7’58 behind) at No. 3, followed by Renato Sembrano (9’13), Oscar Rindole (10’04), Warren Davadilla (11’18), Ronnel Hualda (12’32), Irish Valenzuela (13’16), Ravina (13’27) and Barnachea.

Tour officials said these riders were not affected by the confusion that ensued since everything had been put to order by the time they were to hit the finish. The Columbia Sportswear team, with Quirimit as lead rider, was the first to file a protest.

“Someone tried to sabotage the race,” rued race manager Paquito Rivas. “We’ll investigate the matter. Obviously, there’s someone on top of this. There were people who manned strategic posts, pointing the riders to the wrong route,” Rivas added.

• Philstar
• Philippine Sports Central