Viva Barnachea! Santy, the new cycling king
AFTER three years of drought for a national title, the province of Pangasinan regains its supremacy in the field of Philippines’ multi-stage bicycle racing. And again like three years ago, the champion rider comes from the eastern part of the province.
Santy Barnachea, Umingan town’s pride, is the name.
Prior to the race, Barnachea offered no promises to his relatives and town mates in spite of his high level of confidence and preparedness for the 8-day race.
But with strong determination, push, guts and mixed with some breaks, the gritty Barnachea exhibited his skills and brute force especially in mountain climbing, to capture the annual Tour Pilipinas bikathon dubbed this year as “Padyak Pinoy.”
Barnachea, 30, did not win a single stage but was the most consistent rider in the field of accredited 80 participants, placing second twice and third once.
The most memorable was the back-breaking San Fernando City L.U. to Baguio City third stage where he seized the coveted ‘yellow jersey’-symbolic of overall leadership-from province mate Ericson Obosa and never gave it back.
Second front-runner Frederick Feliciano tried to wrest the leadership twice especially during the dreaded Tagaytay City penultimate stage but to no avail. Feliciano, the 2005 Tour de Hundred Islands titlist, stayed second up to the last leg with three minutes 58 seconds adrift Barnachea.
Obosa, 26, from Manaoag came in third seven minutes 13 seconds off the pacer Barnachea.
The lanky five-foot-nine Barnachea received a P75,000 purse plus a big trophy and a share of his Sunbolt squad’s earnings in the team competitions.
Feliciano, the pride of Alliaga, Nueva Ecija pocketed P60,000 plus a share of the P300,000 that his team won for landing third. Obosa bagged P50,000.
Three other Panga-sinenses landed on the top ten namely Renato Sembrano of Mangaldan (7th), Harvey Sicam (8th) and 2003 Tour Pilipinas king Arnel Quirimit of Pozorrubio (10th).
Sembrano’s Cossack Vodka team topped the team competitions with a whopping P500,000 prize, while Quirimit’s Elixir squad was first runner-up worth P400,000.
The first three teams also received big trophies from the sponsoring company Tanduay Distilleries, Inc. – JAG
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