Navymen finish 1-2-3 in criterium race

Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance swept the men’s elite race and the usual suspects kept their grip on their gold medals in the criterium races of the PhilCycling National Championships for Road 2024 last Monday at the Tagaytay City Atrium.

Darkness started to set in when the Navy trio of Jan Paul Morales, Junrey Navarro and Ronald Oranza darted to a 1-2-3 finish in the 40-minute plus threelap event where 47 from a start list of 71 of the country’s strongest riders managed to finish.

“It was tough all the way, everyone was unrelenting so I had to push and push so hard the entire race,” said Morales, already 37 but still the man to beat in local racing especially in the nationals presented by Standard Insurance and the MVP Sports Foundation.

Kim Bonilla and Angelica Mae Altamarino retained their women junior and under-23 crowns with plenty to spare while former Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jermyn Prado regained her throne with a solo finish in the women’s elite category of the nationals also supported by Tagaytay City, Chooks-To-Go, Excellent Noodles, CCN and Fitbar.

The other winners in the races organized by the PhilCycling headed by Abraham Tolentino, sanctioned by the UCI and supported by the local government units in Batangas and Cavite and PNP commands in Batangas and Cavite and the Bureau of Fire were Yvaine Osias and Jhay Karl Nuñez in Youth 2 (under-14) and Ems Krog and Sean Andrei Gatchalian in Youth 1 (15-16 years old)

Balayan’s Marvin Mandac was alone at the finish and won the men’s junior title riding a borrowed aluminum bike while Steven Nicolas Shane Tablizo ruled the men under-23.