LUCENA CITY – Cris Joven of Kinetix Lab-Army seeks to build something out of his recent Stage Four triumph and inch closer to pacesetting Navy-Standard Insurance rivals Rudy Roque and Jan Paul Morales as the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2017 resumes today in Stage Five that starts here and ends at the Camsur Watersports Complex in Pili, Camarines Sur.
Joven, 30, bared his true fangs to rule Stage Four in Subic Bay that propelled him from No. 14 the previous stage to ninth in the overalll individual race and should make his move again in the 251-kilometer stage that is this 14-stage event considered the biggest cycling race in the country today.
“I hope this is a start of something big for me, hopefully I’ll have some rest and try to go for it again,” said Joven.
Joven is also hoping to make his hometown folks proud being a native of Iriga, Camarines Sur.
“Although we will not pass by Iriga where I was born and grew up, I hope to meet some friends and family along the way and make them proud of me,” said Joven, now an Army private.
After four stages, Joven has an aggregate time of 11 hours, 13 minutes and 45 seconds, or now just four and a half minutes behind Roque a little over three minutes in the shadow of Morales, last year’s Ronda king.
Roque and Morales have total times of 11:12:15 and 11:13:45, respectively, and are expected to be wary of Joven.
Morales, 31, has been the biggest gainer since a subpar Stage One effort as he since made a leap from outside the top 20 to No. 2, thanks to a pair stage victories up North in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Subic.
“I like my chances, I just need to race intelligently and pace myself,” said Morales, who is based from Calumpang, Marikina.
For the 25-year-old Roque, Stage Five will be critical to his campaign.
“As I’ve said before, if I will still be on top after Stages Three, Four and Five, then I have a chance. And so far, I’m doing okay,” said Roque, who hails from Tipo, Bataan.
Navy’s Ronald Lomotos is at No. 3 with 11:14:33 while Ilocos Sur’s Ryan Serapio at No. 4 with 11:16:07, thanks to his recent podium finish in Stage Four.