By Jerome Lagunzad
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Brotherhood came to the fore yesterday as Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance’s El Joshua Cariño teamed up with his younger brother Daniel Ven of 7-Eleven Cliqq RoadBike PH for an impressive 1-2 finish in the lung-busting Stage 3 of the 2018 Le Tour de Filipinas.
The Cariño brothers frolicked under hot and humid conditions as they made their big move upon entering the town of Sta. Barbara, some 30 kilometers away from here, before they engaged in a mad dash to the finish, much to the delight of a big hometown crowd near the Pangasinan Provincial Capitol.
The elder Cariño negotiated the punishing 185.20km odyssey that started in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya and snaked through the crowded roads of the country’s cycling hotbed in four hours, 28 minutes and 56 seconds as he claimed his first-ever lap victory in the annual road race co-presented Air21, Cignal and Cargohaus Inc.
Cariño, 25, triggered a major shake-up in the general classifications, taking a big leap from ninth spot to the top with an aggregate time of 8:17:23 that enabled him to wrest the coveted yellow jersey from fellow Navyman Ronald Oranza.
Oranza, who checked in at 15th overall, slipped down to third spot, a minute and 41 seconds off Cariño.
Despite finishing a bike-length behind El Joshua, Daniel Ven, 19, still jumped from 11th spot to second overall, trailing by just four seconds going to the fourth and final stage today, a back-breaking 154.65km trek up to the mountain top city of Baguio made tougher by a Hors Category climb in the treacherous Kennon Road.
The Cariño brothers, who both hail from Mangaldan, some 22kms away from here, also put themselves in the rich history of Philippine Tour by becoming the first Filipino siblings to make a 1-2 finish in the only International Cycling Union-sanctioned road race in the country.
“Gusto namin gumawa ng history sa cycling na magkapatid na nanalo sa UCI,” said El Joshua, savoring the feat in the presence of their father Bienvenido, 78. “Madali sa aming dalawa kasi magkapatid kami. Dream come true kasi history talaga ‘yun.”
Philippine national team Mervin Corpuz finished behind the Cariño brothers, one minute and 30 seconds off the pace, to highlight another powerful performance from the crack local riders who still occupy seven spots in the Top 10 so far.
Navyman Jan Paul Morales, still the green jersey holder as the best sprinter, is running at fifth with a clocking of 8:19:11, followed by 2014 champion Mark Galedo (seventh, 8:19:17) and Marcelo Felipe (eighth, 8:19:17) of 7-Eleven Cliqq RoadBike PH and Navy’s climbing specialist Junrey Navarra (ninth, 8:19:30).
Korean Jung Hajeon of Uijeaongbu Cycling Team checked in at sixth in the stage and slipped two rungs lower down to fourth in the GC rankings with a total time of 8:19:11.
A pair of foreign riders still in the Top 10 are Indonesian Aiman Cahyadi of Team Sapura, who moved a rung lower to sixth with an aggregate time of 8:19:14, and Terengganu’s Eritrean rider Metkel Eyo who slid down from fourth to 10th overall with 8:20:11 clocking.
In the team classifications, the irrepressible Navymen continued to lead the way with a total time of 25 hours, 56 minutes and four seconds, just three seconds ahead of Team 7-Eleven. Uijeongbu Cycling Team is at third, more than 12 minutes behind.
