Post by krx on Dec 22, 2007 10:19:37 GMT 8
Filipino cyclists rule Tour of Thailand
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:06am (Mla time) 12/22/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- The national road team capped an amazing year for Philippine cycling by emerging overall team champion of the Tour of Thailand that ended Friday in the mountain resort city of Chiang Mai.
What they failed to accomplish in the recent 24th Southeast Asian Games in Nakhon Ratchasima they pulled off with a flourish in the bikathon that covered 999 kilometers in northern Thailand.
The Philippines led the general team classification from the first day of the six-stage competition (Official times were not immediately available, according to PhilCycling, the national sports association for cycling).
For emerging as overall champion, the Nationals also ruled the ASEAN division of the competition.
Japan’s well-traveled Team A finished second to the Filipinos, who were led by the promising Irish Valenzuela. The 20-year-old placed second in the first stage and went on to become the best-placed Filipino at fifth in the individual standings.
Rounding out the top 10 in the general team classification of the Category 2.2 race sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) were Thailand in third, followed by Iran, Malaysia, the mixed team Giant Asia, Merida Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Vietnam.
Seventeen teams started the race but four backed out, including Thailand’s Team B which ran out of riders because of injury.
Ahad Kazemi of Iran was the overall individual champion with Indonesia’s Tonton Susanto, who raced for the Danish team, second.
Third was Iran’s Hosein Jahanbanian, followed by SEA Games ITT gold medalist Mahawong Prajak of Thailand in fourth.
Lloyd Reynante landed in ninth place and Victor Espiritu, winner of the SEA Games gold in the track point race, was 16th. Ronald Gorantes placed 37th.
“The riders were still at their peak,” said head coach Jomel Lorenzo. “The program for 2007 was to have the riders reach their peak in the SEA Games and it was timely that the Tour of Thailand came just two days after the Games ended.”
“It is indeed an amazing year for cycling. This is a morale-boosting and an inspiring performance from our cyclists,” said PhilCycling president Bert Lina.
Cycling emerged second only to swimming as the best-performing sport for the Philippine delegation in the SEA Games with four gold medals. Swimming had eight.
Aside from Espiritu, the other cycling gold medalists were Baby Marites Bitbit in the women’s massed-start road race, Alfie Catalan in the men’s track individual pursuit and Joey Barba in mountain bike’s men’s downhill event.
In his initial report to Lina on Friday, Lorenzo said a Filipino-Dutch raced for the Merida Netherlands. Malaya Van Palpalatoc Ruitenbeek, who topped the fifth stage on Thursday, has a Filipino mother who hails from Cagayan Valley. He speaks Ilocano and Tagalog and occasionally chatted with the Filipinos.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:06am (Mla time) 12/22/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- The national road team capped an amazing year for Philippine cycling by emerging overall team champion of the Tour of Thailand that ended Friday in the mountain resort city of Chiang Mai.
What they failed to accomplish in the recent 24th Southeast Asian Games in Nakhon Ratchasima they pulled off with a flourish in the bikathon that covered 999 kilometers in northern Thailand.
The Philippines led the general team classification from the first day of the six-stage competition (Official times were not immediately available, according to PhilCycling, the national sports association for cycling).
For emerging as overall champion, the Nationals also ruled the ASEAN division of the competition.
Japan’s well-traveled Team A finished second to the Filipinos, who were led by the promising Irish Valenzuela. The 20-year-old placed second in the first stage and went on to become the best-placed Filipino at fifth in the individual standings.
Rounding out the top 10 in the general team classification of the Category 2.2 race sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) were Thailand in third, followed by Iran, Malaysia, the mixed team Giant Asia, Merida Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Vietnam.
Seventeen teams started the race but four backed out, including Thailand’s Team B which ran out of riders because of injury.
Ahad Kazemi of Iran was the overall individual champion with Indonesia’s Tonton Susanto, who raced for the Danish team, second.
Third was Iran’s Hosein Jahanbanian, followed by SEA Games ITT gold medalist Mahawong Prajak of Thailand in fourth.
Lloyd Reynante landed in ninth place and Victor Espiritu, winner of the SEA Games gold in the track point race, was 16th. Ronald Gorantes placed 37th.
“The riders were still at their peak,” said head coach Jomel Lorenzo. “The program for 2007 was to have the riders reach their peak in the SEA Games and it was timely that the Tour of Thailand came just two days after the Games ended.”
“It is indeed an amazing year for cycling. This is a morale-boosting and an inspiring performance from our cyclists,” said PhilCycling president Bert Lina.
Cycling emerged second only to swimming as the best-performing sport for the Philippine delegation in the SEA Games with four gold medals. Swimming had eight.
Aside from Espiritu, the other cycling gold medalists were Baby Marites Bitbit in the women’s massed-start road race, Alfie Catalan in the men’s track individual pursuit and Joey Barba in mountain bike’s men’s downhill event.
In his initial report to Lina on Friday, Lorenzo said a Filipino-Dutch raced for the Merida Netherlands. Malaya Van Palpalatoc Ruitenbeek, who topped the fifth stage on Thursday, has a Filipino mother who hails from Cagayan Valley. He speaks Ilocano and Tagalog and occasionally chatted with the Filipinos.