Sports Eye
Discovering a new talent
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
LAST January 24, Mangatarem hosted a bikefest, participated in by 60 amateur riders from the province and neighboring places. It was sponsored by sports-minded former NCRPO chief Leopoldo N. Bataoil, a native of barangay Libsong of the capital town Lingayen. It was the first event of Mangatarem in conjunction with the celebration of its town fiesta that ended on January 30.
The race, supervised by the municipal government under the leadership of Mayor Teddy C. Cruz and dubbed as the “Bataoil Cycling Challenge, Tour de Segundo Distrito”, was one of the highlights of the fiesta that attracted thousands of spectators lined up along the national highways of the second district. Parang people power ang dating ‘ika nga sa dami ng taong nanood from start to finish. It was Bataoil himself who flagged off the contestants at 10:35 a.m. after giving them a short inspirational message. He said he wants to help the province in developing sports (not only in cycling) among both the young and the old.
I directed the 158-kilometer road tourney that turned out to be successful with no untoward incident during the more than four hours of pedal-pushing under the scorching heat of the sun. Thanks to the Lord and to Our Lady of Manaoag.
I was really awed by the manner with which the winner, Juancho Callorina, pushed his pedals (ala European way), his sprinting prowess, stamina, passion and techniques that helped him win, including the summit sprint prize sponsored by Engr. Dion and Blandino Caguioa. (See related story on this page)
This 21 year-old guy from the cycling-breeding town of San Manuel could follow the footsteps of his idol and town mate, the late Jacinto Sicam (Marlboro Tour champ 1981-82), if he continues with the proper training regimen. He placed second in the 2009 Tour of Zambales, a sign of his potential as a champion. What he still lacks is experience against the big guns of Philippine cycling and that will come this summer. I was told he will be competing in the Tour of Luzon this year scheduled February 27-March 7 and also most likely in the Le Tour de Filipinas slated on April 17-21. The two big national races will be participated in by some foreign cycling clubs from Australia, New Zealand, USA, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Austria. I will give you more details of these races in the following weeks.
And of course, like in the past, Pangasinan will have a delegation to the two events. But my source said the Pangasinenses will be dispersed among different teams again to balance the competition. It means kinatatakutan kapag buong-buo ang Pangasinan because the province’s riders have all the ingredients to compose a great team if our best will run as one force. That’s for sure.
I do hope that Callorina joins these two major races as it will be a chance to gauge his capacity to be a champion. Let’s wait and see.
