PAGNANAWON TRIES TO RETRACE PA’S ROUTE TO BIKE GREATNESS

Jaybop Pagnanawon hopes to follow the footsteps of his father, former Marlboro Tour champion Rolando, as he spearheads Team Bike Xtreme in the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented by LBC starting March 3 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and ending March 18 at Filinvest, Alabang.

Pagnanawon, 29, will skipper a team that also includes younger brother Jhunvie and cousin Jhetly hoping to make a big impact after a poor performance a year ago, when he didn’t even finish in the top 20.

“I had mechanical problems last year. Hopefully, I could do better this time,” Pagnanawon, a native of Talisay, Cebu, said in Filipino.

Team Bike Xtreme coach Lloyd Lucien Reynante, the ar- chitect of Navy-Standard Insurance’s dominance in recent Ronda editions, said its goal this year is to develop riders who have the potential to do big in the future.

Apart from the Pagnanawons, the other members of the team owned by Singaporebased Vincent Leow are Michael Ochoa, James Ferfas, Arjay Kaul, Michael Farre and Valdimir Ulanday.

“If you will notice, our one and only big gun is Jaybop because we’re just looking for a top 10 finish and perhaps several stage wins or podium finishes,” said Reynante. “Our purpose is to really help those riders from the provinces who have potential.

A cool P1 million will be at stake in this 12-stage race.