Rivas, legendary cyclist, marvels at new breed of riders

BAGUIO CITY – Former tour champion Paquito Rivas believes that Filipino cyclists really have what it takes to hold their ground against their crack foreign counterparts as long as they put in the work early on.

“Local cyclists are showing the fruits of early training,” Rivas, 73, told the Bulletin yesterday, the morning after Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance rider El Joshua Cariño claimed the 2018 Le Tour de Filipinas crown, just the third Filipino to do so in the Tour’s first nine editions.

“They can compete with the best although sometimes, due to the uncertainty in the schedule of competition, they cannot prepare in time. That’s where we are at a disadvantage.”

Still considered by many of his peers as the undisputed “Eagle of the Mountain” after winning the 1979 Tour title, Rivas added that the unexpected rise of Cariño, 25, should serve as proof of how the Filipinos have taken that big leap in UCI-sanctioned races.

And he is confident that the breakthrough victory of the Mangaldan, Pangasinan native, who is related to former Tour champions Ruben and Samson Cariño, could be just the first of titles to come.

“I believe he can repeat as champion. He is from a family of very good and strong riders. He also is getting trained well so I think he has what it takes,” said Rivas, now the race manager of the annual road race co-presented Air21, Cignal and Cargohaus, Inc.

Rivas said even he was caught by surprise when Cariño took control.

“I never expected Joshua to dominate the field. But then knowing where he came from, I’m sure his pedigree was a big help,” he said.

Aside from Cariño, who took the Best Sprinter honors, his younger brother, Daniel Ven, 19, of 7-Eleven Cliqq RoadBike PH, earned a share of the limelight as the Best Young Rider while his fellow Navymen underscored their dominance by wresting the team classifications title.

Their impressive results should serve as a timely reminder of how early preparations can work wonders, added Rivas.

“Never stop training because that would affect your resistance, especially if you gain weight,” he said.