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With decisive ride on key ascents, Lomotos seizes lead and—potentially—crown


Ronald Lomotos shed tears of his solitude during one of his Stage 9 climbs. With Naval Standard Insurance and national team mates ready to protect him, the Lomotos are expected to turn the corner. Stage 10 into a coronation trip. —RONDA PILIPINAS

Ronald Lomotos launched a trip to remember on Saturday and, barring any unfortunate accidents, will turn the once-only Sunday criterion into a ceremonial coronation journey.

The 26-year-old Navy Standard Insurance stand-up beat the opposition in the challenging slopes of the Kayapa mountains in Nueva Vizcaya and the winding, uphill trek to Baguio City, arriving alone at the Park Burnham of the summer capital to claim the overall lead — and perhaps the crown — in LBC Ronda Pilipinas.

“I have dreamed of this for a long time and I thank God for giving me this opportunity,” said Lomotos, who played the sport at the age of seven.

The Lomotos finished the 174.4-kilometer ninth stage in six hours, five minutes and four seconds and devoured their entire tally earlier in the day, falling nine minutes short of the overall classification race. Lomotos catapulted to the top of the leaderboard with a total time of 34:13:48.

He currently leads teammate Ronald Oranza 21 seconds.

Oranza, the 2018 Ronda champion, finished fourth in the leg in 6:14:22 and slipped to second, stripping the leader’s red jersey he has worn since winning Stage six in Tagaytay on last Tuesday.

Two other Marines — El Joshua Carino (34:32:42) and Jeremy Lizardo (34:42:53) — are at number 3 and 4.

Route up and down

Sunday’s criteria — the last leg of the race — can pose a bit of a challenge for riders as the 3.1-kilometer route cuts through the up and down concrete of Baguio’s famous Session Road, First leg of the local cycling circuit. So while the title might be in the bag for the Lomotos, it might take a bit of work to pack that bag.

But team insiders say Navy Standard Insurance drivers, most of whom are members of the national team, will protect the Lomotos throughout the standard process to ensure the title doesn’t slip away.

Lomotos, Oranza and Navy Standard Insurance riders George Oconer and Jhon Mark Camingao are part of the national team for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games and are four of the five cyclists who will be joining. power the country in the large-scale warm-up/long-distance running event.

This could be why Lomotos crossed the finish line in tears – he had a disaster-free day as cashing in on the P1 million champion’s check in cash would boost his family’s income .

“I rode my bike to help my mother (Zenaida), who is making a living as a caregiver,” says Lomotos.

Joshua Pascual and Joshua Mari Bonifacio of the Noodles team finished second and third in the leg with identical times of 6:13:31, about eight minutes behind Lomotes and in the top 10. Bonifacio now stands. 5th in 34:34:25 and Pascual in 8th place in 34:38:58.

Morales, the overall lead in the early stages, struggled during the sublimation period and slipped from 2nd to 7th in 34:37:33 and bid his title-challenge goodbye.

It will also be the crowning ride of the Navy cyclists, who are leading in the team classification with a total time of 100:03:32 ahead of Excellent Noodles (100:40:28) and Team Nueva Ecija (102:56:30).

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