Sports Eye
Subic-Dagupan race, the toughest so far
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
THE Subic -Dagupan City race held last March 23 was the toughest so far that cyclists had experienced over the last two years of competitions. The “OO na, Noynoy na” bikefest was also the toughest road event that I organized and directed since March 1974. Toughest because it was a long and strenuous trek that run through the flat and hilly roads of Zambales and the western part of Pangasinan with a length of 245 kilometers. Some of the obstacles that the cyclists encountered were unruly crowds, undisciplined motorists, and stray animals crossing the road.
The scorching heat that the cyclists suffered for more than six hours of riding was what I found to be their worst number. It was such a pity that nature gave us 36 degrees Celsius that day, too much for the contestants. My race officials and I feared that somebody might suffer a heat stroke along the way and that could tarnish the star-studded affair. Luckily, with the help of Almighty Lord, we all survived. Thirty, out of 58 riders, finished the grueling road battle without any major untoward incident except in downtown Iba in Zambales when a tricycle driver sideswiped one rider, causing him to fall and suffer minor abrasions. After that minor incident, which is very common in any road event, the race went on smoothly up to the finish line where a big throng of spectators, including Pangasinan former governor Oscar M. Orbos and Dagupan City Mayor Alipio Fernandez, Jr., waited. The bad news is we were badly beaten by the visitors and the best that our Pangasinan boys could do was a fourth place finish. Well, we should know how to accept the reality – you can’t win them all.
The event was another sports project of sports-minded party-list ASAHAN under the chairmanship of Jun Omar Ebdane of Candelaria, Zambales and conceptualized by Orbos and media colleague Jun Velasco. The tall, masculine and good-looking Ebdane who flagged off the contestants in Subic — assisted by secretary to the mayor Ricardo Otero Jr. — said it was one of ASAHAN’s many contributions in the development of sports in the country. They further promised to stage more events in the future, not only in cycling but also boxing, volleyball, billiards, tennis, taekwondo and other disciplines where Filipinos could excel in during international competitions.
Ebdane also said that the next race will probably be held on April 11, covering Tarlac to Baguio City via some towns/cities of Nueva Ecija, eastern part of Pangasinan including San Nicolas (his hometown), three municipalities of La Union and finally traversing the treacherous Kennon Road through the mountains of Benguet. Details of this project will be in the next issue. Yes, I was assigned again to direct the lung-busting event, my 163rd in my life. It will be an open race (professional-amateur) and expected to be another blockbuster affair with trophies, medals and incentive prizes up for grabs. Hopefully the pedal-by-pedal account will be aired live over the radio.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
