Former champions Santy Barnachea of Team Franzia and Irish Valenzuela of CCN Superteam are primed to be the biggest thorns to Jan Paul Morales' quest for a third straight Ronda Pilipinas title, when the 2018 edition kicks off this weekend in Vigan.
Barnachea was the inaugural champion in 2011 and was the last champion in 2015 before Morales' back-to-back titles, while Valenzuela won the 2013 edition.
According to Barnachea, he believes that he still has something left in him, while Valenzuela's goal every race is to win. Both cyclists missed out on the last two editions due to a variety of reasons.
Morales, for his part, says he accepts the challenge posed by his rivals, as the Navy-Standard Insurance standard bearer believes that "with the proper support from my team and good strategy, I have a strong chance of winning again this year." He also acknowledges the defending the title will not be an easy task.
To help with Morales' quest for a three-peat, Navy-Standard Insurance has enlisted a crack unit to ensure his success. The team is led by the returning Ronald Oranza, who skipped last year's edition for national team commitments, last year's runner-up Rudy Roque, and multiple-time King of the Mountain Junrey Navarra. Completing the cast are El Joshua Carino, Jhon Mark Camingao, Ronald Lomotos, and Archie Cardana.
Other potential threats to Morales includes 2015 runner up George Oconer of Go for Gold, 2017 third place Cris Joven of Army-Bicycology, Bike Xtreme's Jaybop Pagnanawon, and Ronnel Hualda of newly-established side Go for Gold Developmental. Also making a return to competitive cycling is Warren Davadilla, as the two-time Marlboro Tour winner joins Valenzuela and Julius Mark Bonzo at CCN.
One million pesos is at stake in this twelve-stage race, which is presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC Foundation, and PhilCycling.
Barnachea was the inaugural champion in 2011 and was the last champion in 2015 before Morales' back-to-back titles, while Valenzuela won the 2013 edition.
According to Barnachea, he believes that he still has something left in him, while Valenzuela's goal every race is to win. Both cyclists missed out on the last two editions due to a variety of reasons.
Morales, for his part, says he accepts the challenge posed by his rivals, as the Navy-Standard Insurance standard bearer believes that "with the proper support from my team and good strategy, I have a strong chance of winning again this year." He also acknowledges the defending the title will not be an easy task.
To help with Morales' quest for a three-peat, Navy-Standard Insurance has enlisted a crack unit to ensure his success. The team is led by the returning Ronald Oranza, who skipped last year's edition for national team commitments, last year's runner-up Rudy Roque, and multiple-time King of the Mountain Junrey Navarra. Completing the cast are El Joshua Carino, Jhon Mark Camingao, Ronald Lomotos, and Archie Cardana.
Other potential threats to Morales includes 2015 runner up George Oconer of Go for Gold, 2017 third place Cris Joven of Army-Bicycology, Bike Xtreme's Jaybop Pagnanawon, and Ronnel Hualda of newly-established side Go for Gold Developmental. Also making a return to competitive cycling is Warren Davadilla, as the two-time Marlboro Tour winner joins Valenzuela and Julius Mark Bonzo at CCN.
One million pesos is at stake in this twelve-stage race, which is presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC Foundation, and PhilCycling.
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