A race report coming from a neophyte in the cycling world and a first-timer to Tour of Matabungkay. In fact, you probably never even heard of me or know my name, or recognize my face beyond my uniform. If you do remember me, I will be called "that girl" from 711 with the yellow bike. Well, can't complain, at least I strike a chord with my team name and bike color :)
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| Me and team mate Michell at the start of the ITT stage |
I barely have enough to say about what went on during the race for the Cat A and Cat B men as I was never in any action in the lead pack, or surged up in front during any of the stages, much less during the climbs. With full knowledge of my present capabilities, I was happy to finish at least two stages out of three.
STAGE 1:
711 came late at the start of stage one. I heard they were calling the team as none of us had signed beside our names 5 minutes before gun start. I'll go ahead and say this was not the best moment for us. But well and thanks to the organizers for being patient with us.
As we pedal off through the 18 kilometer neutral, I was doing my best to keep pace with the Cat B peloton as well as the two Franzia women and my teammate Michell. Towards the last few kilometers, I would lose sight of these women and start the climb all on my own. I knew I was way behind Michelle of Franzia, but slightly ahead of Mae (Franzia) and Michell (711).
The climb was surprisingly not as hard as I dreaded it to be. I wasn't exactly going up it at a fast pace, but I kept my strokes steady and my head down. I was looking at the road and not at the rising elevation. This works for me when I don't want to psyche myself out in the climbs.
Along the way I wold pass some cyclist and get passed by more of them. I met one guy, Bob of Green Planet, who I happily chit-chatted with up until the turn around. I had him go ahead on the downhill as I'm sure I won't be doing 60 kph going down. I pedalled as hard as I could going down though, just for the sheer joy of it. Wheeee!
After that exhilarating descent, I caught up with some riders towards the bottom of the hill, Bob included. I would get to join their peloton for a while, and get promptly left behind at the first climb to Tuy. So much for my draft.
All the way back through Tuy and through Balayan, I would suffer incessantly on my own. Sure there were a few who caught me and egged me on. Or shouted at me to join the pack. But I COULD NOT pedal any faster at this point. My non-training had paid off, or should I say, collected from me. At this point, Mae also overtook me and I told her to go ahead.
Looking back, I should've just stopped to wait for Michell, so we could keep each other company and share the ordeal.
STAGE 2:
I was happy to sit back and laze around in the afternoon while our men were suffering through another lung-busting stage -- the Team Time Trial.
711 was scheduled for release at 2:45 pm. King (another team mate) and I gingerly awaited by the entrance gate of their resort to watch the action. Makoy (who took all of the photos here) told me to expect them to pass by 3:02, 17 minutes after gun start, at kilometer 13. He expected for them to go at speeds of around 55 kmh. Lo and behold, they zoomed past us at 2:58, 4 minutes earlier than expected. Doing the math, this would translate to 60kmh, pretty much like a downhill speed at a steep hill for me.
For the rest of the afternoon, we would see the really fast men zoom past us with disc wheels going "voom, voom, voom" and bikes to drool at. With foreign participants upping up the ante, our men would finish 7th overall. Good job guys!
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| Meyo, Andrew, Jogz, Makoy and Atty. Mike -- 711 Express |
STAGE 3:
This stage was the most anticipated of all, not only because it was the longest, but because it wound up through the famous Payapa cllimb. Having lived near the Quezon City/Pasig area my whole stay here in Luzon, I have never tried biking this route. But I have always heard stories about how nice it was and how magnificent the views are. The mention of a Disneyland up top was what got me to mount my bike and join the rest of the cyclists at the starting line. Michell would make the wiser choice of staying at home and enjoying a much needed R and R.
Off we go again. For a peloton that raced two stages just yesterday, we sure were going fast. That or my legs were too tired to keep up. I was dreading when we would be released after the neutral and I was right to dread it. Even before the climb up at Tuy, I was already a sizable distance from the Cat B peloton. I got waaaay dropped.
So here I am left to my own resources, as usual. Before I could wallow in self-pity though, a life -saver would come in a train of 5 cyclists being led by a non-racer. He was pulling the peloton who were happy to stay behind him the whole way with one thought in mind "this guys is not racing anyway." I was guilty of the same thing. Whoever you are, thank you for making the Balayan leg much easier for us.
Before the start of the Payapa climb, I would obviously get dropped again. At this point I was accompanied by Roland of Business Mirror cycling team. He had gone through this way before and was hesistant to go up. So we decided to stop by a store before the climb to give ourselves a boost, physically and mentally. We were joined a bit later by the Broom Wagon (whom I fondly called the whole time as my new best friend).15 minutes and some stories after, we were on our way.
When I finally saw King with a bottle of Pocari beside Disneyland, I felt the urge to stop and have my picture taken. But I was too scared to get left behind. A few meters later and I see Roland stop. He has decided to abandon the race and I felt I had done what I set out to do as well. Too bad I didn't get to have a picutre taken of me at Disneyland Payapa!
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the pool at King's resort :)
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| 711 playing frisbee in the pool and the afternoon glow |
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| Mr "there are other uses for your time trial suit".. and the future 711 champ |
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| Best couple pic yet! |
Add another round of dinner and drinks courtesy of Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel , Franzia wines, Manila beer and of course, the organizers of TOM. Thank you guys for going the extra mile to feed and keep us drunk! :)
STAGE 4
With a lot of cyclists probably still groggy from last night's festivities, I was one of the few unlucky ones who had to start out early and was scheduled for release first at 7AM. I was both dreading and looking forward to this leg as this would be the defining moment as to how far I have slipped down the ladder to cycling greatness.
With my trusty old Bumblee and his handsome wheels, I was a little bit excited to be riding with a` few pounds off my load.
My goal for this race was: "Don't get overtaken, but if you do, pedal as hard as you can to catch up!"
A few minutes after I was pushed off the stage, I could feel my breathing becoming so labored I felt like I was about to give birth anytime. I decided to relax and again, stare at the view. But I had to stop myself from doing so for most of the way as I was afraid to finish darn last in the women's race. As expected, my team mate Michell overtook me after that long climb going to the Calatagan turn. I was so happy she did that. Now I could relax a little as I was confident she has first place clinched for our team. But my worst fears were confirmed when I saw Michelle and Mae, who was right behind her, at the U-turn in Calatagan. I decided to gun it harder and pedal like I stole it. My efforts would not be enough though, as by the first climb in the ear section going to Tuy, Michell overtook me right before the climb and Mae, was right beside me two kilometers after, at the top of the climb. I was feeling competitive then. I was not about to give in to despair. I pedalled as fast as I could going down and around the last U-turn. I was still pedalling like crazy when I heard another teamate, Boss Vic, shout "Go JC!" "Drat, he overtook my 7 minutes lead," was all I could think of then. I decided to try and catch up with him, but he left me behind after about 2 kilometers. Going back up that last climb before we make a right to Lian, I heard somebody shout at me "Go ate, iwan mo na yung isang babae!" I remembere then I still had Mae hot on my heels. And from here on all I could remember was I will never be able to forgive myself if I finish last. So I pedalled as hard as I could. With my systems shutting down, I made a miscalculation to shift to my light gears waaaay before the start of the last climb to the finish. I panicked for a while. When I got my composure back, I gave the climb all my last remaining energy. Still someone overtook me towards the finish.
I expected a happy ending to this day, and happily it came. I had a short scare when we asked the organizers at the finish about the results, but it was corrected immediately. Hats off to the people who managed the timing! Look at this cool shot from them!
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| Finish Line photo thanks to Wilson Cheng! |
It was another good race with the best team and team mates ever. Much as we wanted to bag more trophies, this year's competition was just too stiff. We didn't come home empty-handed though.
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| Michell, the ITT queen, wins first... Michelle Barnachea, overall women's winner, at second and me at far 3rd |
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| Ryan, this unassuming brave warrior from Lingayen bags the ITT and Stage 1 gold and the overall GC! |
Some comments on the race from this neophyte:
- Wonderful routes (minus the road repairs), good view, good venue!
- Skills boost for the cyclists from the foreigners, although maybe next year locals should have a separate category in the awarding :)
- Delicious food, wine and beer, every night to cap the stages off and wonderful spread for the final lunch awarding!
- Quick results and time despite the lack of timing chips
- Cool shirt, although placement of AXN logo could be better situated
- Cool giveaway bags thanks to Mossimo and AXN
- Good support from Local Government with regards to security, medical tent, mobile medics, etc.
- Wonderful shots from the action photographer Mr. Jojo Rinoza
- Good post race massage tent and overflowing hydration area; maybe next year you can have a designated feeding zone to keep the course clear of SAGs that tend to get in the way of others trying to catch up with the peloton.
- Good overall organizing by the Baterna brothers and Mr. Ric Rodriguez. Hats-off to these guys for raising the bar in race organizing!
- A special mention on the lack of drafting marshalls during the ITT. Like the tri race in Camsur this year, organizers should give top priority to people who are DRAFTING (a good people pen was put in place for drafters, but a 4 minute stop will do).
Maybe this will piss off a lot of you, but something has to be done about the level of racing we are delivering. An ITT was named just that for a reason, this is supposed to be done INDIVIDUALLY. I have seen friends guilty of this as well, and even if it does not take out my respect of you completely, you must realize playing by the rules earns you so much more respect in return. Which one would you rather have? As my team mate said, an ITT is a "Race of Truth." You gauge yourselves on how well you do not by the efforts of others but on your own merit. Where is the pride in finishing fast because of someone else?
So I challenge that next road race organizer, let me see how serious you are about people playing by YOUR rules! 'Till the next starting line!
Thanks to Makoy Almanzor, Wilson Cheng, Jojo Rinoza and TOM for the pictures!
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