Indon surges from last to lap’s best

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines - – He was among the last riders to check in following a luck-less ride last Tuesday and Indonesian Patria Rastra of PT Pegasus Cycling Team made sure he was the first one home yesterday. 

Determined to redeem himself from 58th place finish the previous lap, Rastra outsprinted four others in the lead pack in the last 50 meters to rule Stage 3 of the fifth Le Tour de Filipinas that ended here.

The 24-year-old Indon, unhampered by punctured tires this time, joined a seven-man group that broke away early on in the neutralized 146.6km race from Cabanatuan City and didn’t let the opportunity for a lap victory slip away.

He submitted 4:12:25, beating Baasanskuu Myagmarsuren of Mongolian squad Attila by one bike-length. Myagmarsuren was given the same time as Rastra, as did Kim Dohyoung of Korea’s KSPO, Lucien Lloyd Reynante of Philippine Navy Standard Insurance and Baler Ravina of 7-Eleven Roadbike.

“I got punctured three times (last Tuesday) and I caught up again to finish the race, 14 minutes behind the (stage) winner,” said Rastra, recalling his ordeal in the previous Olongapo-to-Cabanatuan stage that pushed him to do better this time.

Heavy traffic in Talavera City about 15km into the race forced International Commissaire Nuthapong Lohitnavee to neutralize the stage and order a restart at the Baloc intersection in Sto. Domingo town about 8km out.

Rastra took advantage and made his move on the climb at Dalton Pass and the descent to Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya.

“After the restart, I broke away and several riders followed me. After the KOM [King of the Mountain], I opted to stay with my group,” Rastra said.

But Rastra’s effort was not enough to alter the picture in the individual general classification dispute.

Singaporean Goh Choon Huat of OCBC Singapore kept his position atop the field intact after logging 4:12:49 in a 33-man third group that included second-running teammate Eric Timothy Sheppard and No. 3 Mark Galedo of 7-Eleven Roadbike.

Goh maintained a 3:03 lead against Sheppard, the opening lap winner, and a 3:33 buffer against Galedo, the Stage Two victor, as the contenders brace for today’s final showdown – a roller-coaster ride from Bayombong-to Baguio race over the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Cordilleras.

With three tough King of the Mountain summits, including a Hors catégorie 2 in Ambuklao, the culminating stage is expected to determine the eventual winner of the UCI-sanctioned race presented by Air21.

“I’ll try my best to keep the yellow jersey (in the end),” said Goh, who was the best Asian rider in the last Tour de Langkawi.

Goh raced in the Le Tour’s most demanding course last year and asked about how he did the first time, he replied: “Not so good.”

OCBC held on its top position in the chase for team general classification honors (37:52:12) but would have to parry the challenge of a charging 7-Eleven crew (37:57:45), which managed to trim the Singaporeans’ lead by a minute to within 5:27.

“Talagang plano namin na kainan ng oras yung nasa harap. Nilagay namin si Baler (Ravina) para magtrabaho ang OCBC (Our plan was to trim the lead of the leader. That’s why we tasked Ravina to make OCBC riders work),” said Roadbike team director Ric Rodriguez.

The Le Tour is also supported by Smart, NLEX, SCTEX, TPLEX, BCDA, Petron, Victory Liner and M. Lhuillier.