VIGAN CITY—Standard Insurance Philippines wasn’t expecting much in the short Stage 2 Team Time Trial of the MPTC Tour of Luzon: The Great Revival from Paoay to this bustling northern Luzon city on Friday.
But after learning that the team won upon reaching the finish at the Provincial Capitol here, team captain Ronald Oranza said they’ll gladly take it.
“Akala namin segunda lang kami, pero noong nalaman namin na kami pala nanalo, siyempre masaya kami lahat,” said Oranza as the Standard Insurance powered through the intense Vigan heat to clinch the Stage 2 honors with an official time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 31 seconds.
The quartet of Stage 1 runner-up Oranza, George Ocaner, Junrey Navarra, and Jeremy Lizardo clocked the fastest times for their squad, as only the top four riders’ results are tallied in the team time trial, which offered the tour’s shortest route of 68.5 kilometers.
Cycling powerhouses Go for Gold Philippines (1:24:39) and 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines (1:24:39) rounded out the podium in second and third place, respectively.
Go for Gold secured the higher position due to their top three riders finishing with a faster combined time than 7-Eleven.
The 7-Eleven team initially celebrated what they believed to be a Stage 2 victory, only to be moved to third place after the final official recount, surprising the young team led by former Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Mark Galado.
MPT DriveHub finished with the second-fastest time of 1:24:18 but incurred an undisclosed time penalty for providing nutrition to their cyclists outside the designated feeding zone near the Ilocos Norte arch, 30 kilometers from the Stage 3 starting point at Paoay Church.
The 130-kilometer Stage 3 — the third of eight stages, is set Saturday at 8 a.m. from the Ilocos Sur capitol building and heads to San Juan, Ilocos Sur.