Joven seeks end to long Ronda title quest

MANILA, Philippines -  Cris Joven hopes to finally nail the elusive win as he skippers Team Army Kinetix Lab in the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2017, which gets going this Sunday in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

“I’ve always dreamed of winning the Ronda Pilipinas and I’ll give it my best to win it this year,” said the 29-year-old Joven, always a contender but never a winner in the tour.

But the Iriga, Camarines Sur ace believes he’ll make it this time with a solid support crew out to back him up in his pursuit of the elusive LBC crown.

It includes Alfie Catalan, Reynaldo Navarro, Alvin Benosa, Lord Anthony del Rosario, Mark Julius Bordeos, Marvin Tapic and a fast-rising Ronnilan Quita.

“We’ve prepared hard for this race and I’m confident we as a team will have a strong chance of figuring well here,” said Joven.

The event ends on March 4 in Iloilo City.

A P1 million prize is up for grabs in the event, courtesy of presentor LBC and in partnership with MVP Sports Foundation, Petron, Mitsubishi, Versa.ph, Victory Liner, Maynilad, Standard Insurance, CCN, Bike Xtreme, NLEX, PhilCycling and 3Q Sports Event Management.

The other teams seeing action are Phl Navy Standard Insurance, Go for Gold, Bike Extreme, Ilocus Sur, Mindanao Sultan Kudarat, Iloilo, NCR RC Cola, Tarlac, Neopolitan, South Luzon and Zambales.

The main race starts on Feb. 4 with two stages in Ilocos Sur and will pass by Angeles (Feb. 8), Subic (Feb. 9), Lucena, Quezon (Feb. 12), Pili, Camarines Norte (Feb. 14 and 16), Daet (Feb. 17), Paseo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna (Feb. 19), Tagaytay and Batangas (Feb. 20), Calamba and Antipolo (Feb. 21) before wrapping up with a pair of stages in Iloilo City (March 2, 3 and 4).