BALER, Aurora. – Ryan Tugawin of Excellent Noodles topped Stage Seven to storm back to the top 10 while Ronald Oranza of Navy Standard Insurance fended off his closest rivals to keep his grip on the overall lead in the 11th LBC Ronda Pilipinas race here Thursday.
Tugawin, 32, flashed his impressive climbing skills in the mountains of Aurora to rule the 174.5-kilometer stage, which started in front of the Tarlac Provincial Capitol and ended at the Quezon Park here where the crowd gave him a warm welcome as he checked in with a time of four hours, 31 minutes and 16 seconds.
El Joshua Carino of Navy Standard Insurance finished second with the same clocking while Marcelo Felipe of Team Nueva Ecija was third in 4:31:18 that also catapulted them straight to top 10.
It was the second podium finish for the Solano, Nueva Vizcaya native after he finished third in the Sorsogon-Legazpi Stage Three last Saturday.
The win was Tugawin’s second stage victory since topping the Sorsogon-Legazpi Stage Two in Ronda’s 10th anniversary edition two years ago.
“I’m happy to win a stage again,” said Tugawin.
For their efforts, all three of them earned a spot in the top 10, with Felipe climbing to No. 5 from No. 11 in 23:28:09, Carino zooming to No. 6 from No. 12 in 23:29:28 and Tugawin leapfrogging to No. 8 from No. 13 in 23:31:29.
