SIEM REAP. – It was way below excellent, but the two bronze medals won in men’s road race in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here showed Philippine cycling is making baby steps back to the top of the podium.
“It’s an improvement,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who also heads PhilCycling, the national federation for the sport.
“They’re little yet significant accomplishments in a discipline that’s never easy at all.”
Reforms in PhilCycling’s road organization have started to bear fruit– the coaching staff and national team composition were revamped in February.
Ronald Oranza clinched both bronze medals in criterium and road race where riders from four of the six participating countries– Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam– won a gold each in both.
“Hard work and focus, and more importantly, it’s the motivation that the riders projected from their selection to the national team in February to the month-long training camp in April,” said Reinhard Gorantes, who’s joined in the road coaching staff by Virgilio Espiritu, Alfie Catalan, Marita Lucas and Gerald Valdez.
The cycling competitions ended Saturday with Vietnam’s Thi That Nguyen winning the women’s road race–a 100.40-km four-lap ride over a 25.10-km loop.
The race was a bore with 20 of the 30 starters riding as a bunch from start to finish.
Thailand’s Jutatip Maneephan clinched silver and Malaysia’s Nur Aisyah Zubir bagged the bronze with the same clocking as Nguyen.
Maura de los Reyes was the best-placed Filipina at ninth, followed by 2019 gold and silver medalist Jermyn Prado and Avegail Rombaon at 11th and 12th places, Mathilda Krog at No. 15, and Kate Yasmin Velasco at No. 17. They all had the same time as the gold medalist.
Ariana Evangelista captured the silver in women’s crosscountry eliminator and helped Shagne Yaoyao, RJ Flores and Jerico Rivera finish with the bronze medal in the mixed team event of mountain bike.
