by Lorelyn Centino
Awarded by Mayor Benjie Magalong, Daniel Ven Cariño won 1st place with Go for Gold teammate  Jonel Carcueva who won 3rd, while Marvin Tapic of Bicycology Army won 2nd for the Stage 8 of Ronda Pilipinas 2020.
BAGUIO CITY- Go for Gold's Daniel Ven Cariño snatched the championship from back to back stage winner Jan Paul Morales of Philippine Navy Standard Insurance while George Oconer sustained overall lead in Stage 8 of Ronda Pilipinas 10th anniversary road cycling championship, March 2.
The 21-year-old Cariño also grabbed the MVP yellow jersey for topping the young rider's category after his 4:30:04 finish of the 170km race from Palayan, Nueva Ecija to Baguio City.
Cariño said that among all the stages in the competition, Stage 8 was the most difficult because of the uphill terrain and the temperature shift.
"Kumbaga nanggaling sa mainit tapos yung temperature [lalamig] so 'yun yung mahirap," Cariño said. "Ito talaga yung 'queen stage' kung tawagin sa cycling kasi ito yung pinakamahirap," he added.
[Coming from a hot place then the temperature goes down, that's the difficult part. This is really what they call the 'queen stage' because this is the hardest.]
Cariño kept pace with leading riders who were also professional mountain climbers and sprinters in the 8-man pack first breakaway along San Jose, Nueva Ecija leaving 23 other riders tailing behind.
He sustained his grip in the lead group until the last kilometer to the finish line where he claimed championship alongside Marvin Tapic of Bicycology Army and his teammate Jonel Carcueva of Go for Gold as top 2 and 3 podium finishers respectively.
A pack of Philippine Navy Standard Insurance riders held their spots from 4th to 10th top finishers namely: Ismael Grospe Jr., Junrey Navarra, Ronald Oranza, Ronald Lamotos, John Mark Camingao, El Joshua Cariño and George Oconer.
Oconer, on the other hand, claimed his 4th LBC red jersey, keeping his lead in the general individual classification and securing his chance to win the one million peso grand prize. His teammate Morales, a two-time stage champion also tightened his grip with the CCN jersey upon leading the points classification.
Chairman and Executive Project Director Moe Chulani said that Baguio, as Stage 8 of Ronda Pilipinas was really a test to look for the cyclist who is best in the uphill race. He further stated that the main purpose of the event is to find the next athlete and champion from cycling that will represent the Philippines in the world stage.
"I think it's time that we look for the younger riders in preparation for the Sea Games in Vietnam two years from now and of course the Asian games, and hopefully a shot in the Olympics," Chulani said.
A total of 74 cyclists competed for the Baguio leg of Ronda Pilipinas. The ninth and last stage of the competition will be held at Vigan, Ilocos Sur from March 3 to 4, 2020.
Edited by Dayanella Jucutan