Galedo redeems self, tops Le Tour

BAGUIO , Philippines  â€“ Redemption came as sweet as the City of Pines’ famous ube halaya, strawberry jam and peanut brittle for Pinoy rider Mark Lexer Galedo.

With his bungled title drive in a previous local tour still leaving a bitter taste, Galedo of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines made good on his new opportunity and tackled the deciding fourth stage with extra determination to pedal his way to coveted crown in the fifth Le Tour de Filipinas.

In so doing, he duplicated the feat of Baler Ravina, who carved his name in history in 2012 when he became the first Phl rider to win a  UCI-sanctioned race.

Galedo actually finished second to lap winner Indonesian Ariya Phounsavath in the rollercoaster 132.7km stage from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya but his searing showing in the punishing mountain roads of the Cordilleras helped him snag the individual general classification crown.

The 28-year-old ace covered the 616km race over four days in 17 hours, 12 minutes, five seconds, spiking the achievement with a victory in the second stage from Olongapo to Cabanatuan City. 

He nosed out Eric Sheppard of OCBC Singapore (17:13:08) and Alireza Asghardazeh of Tabriz Shahrdari Ranking (TSR) of Iran (17:16:17) for the title, worth 40 UCI points and $950.

“Nag-focus talaga ako at nag-ensayo para rito. Low morale kasi kami dahil sa nangyari sa amin sa ibang karera (I was really focused in the Le Tour to make up for what happened to us in a previous tour),” said Galedo as he rested his weary legs in the team car minutes after crossing the finish line in front of Burnham Park.

He was referring to his heartbreaking meltdown in Ronda Pilipinas, where he held the overall lead going to the last two stages but let it slip away to plummet to third at the end of hostilities.

“Yun ang nasa isip ko. Kailangan makabawi ako dito, maipwesto ko ito, para mawala na, malimutan na yun. (I was motivated to win the Le Tour to redeem myself and erase the bitter memories),” said Galedo, who stands to gain 53 UCI points in all and a possible Top 50 standing in the UCI’s Asian rankings.

Occupying third in the GC chase entering the final lap, Galedo found the opportunity to strike and gain some headway at the 60km mark near the Benguet-Vizcaya boundary. 

He went on a solo breakaway and pouncing on his climbing prowess, put more distance between him and the chase group, maintaining a gap that reached as high as six minutes at one point.

“Wala naman sa plano na umatake ako nang solo, nagkaroon lang talaga ng chance. Nakita ko umagwat, tinuloy-tuloy ko na (I wasn’t suppose to attack alone but I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity and I saw that I was beginning to pull away),” he said.

But feeling pain on both legs as they entered the last 30km, Galedo decided to expend just enough energy to finish the race at the targeted time, allowing Phounsavath to blow past him and steal lap honors. Phounsavath came in at 4:32:42, beating Galedo by one minute, 41 seconds.