RP Tour: Irish cyclist proves height is might

Size does matter – even in an international cycling event. Team Giant Asia skipper David McCann proved that to everyone when he topped the opening stage of the Le Tour de Filipinas (Tour of the Philippines) on Saturday in Tagaytay City.

The 6-foot-5, 37-year-old Irish showed his dominance while negating the towns and cities in Batangas all the way to finishing the Tagaytay-to-Tagaytay race trouble free. He finished the opening of the four-stage, 142.70-kilometer race in three hours, 29 minutes and 21 seconds. "When I saw I had two short guys shadowing me before the climb, I knew I had the chance and I had it," said McCann, who barely showed difficulty enduring the hot summer sun. "It was really hot, but we were able to adjust to the heat since it was hotter when we raced in the last Tour de Thailand," he added. McCann was part of the 14-man group that pulled away early right from Nasugbu. He was able to hand on to the lead through the traffic jams in Cuenca, Lipa and Tanauan, and held on further beginning the dreaded Sungay climb in Talisay. But while McCann was able to show his dominance, two Filipinos were able to finish second and third, respectively – 7-Eleven’s assistant team captain Lloyd Lucien Reynante and Team Pilipinas-Batang Tagaytay skipper Baler Ravina. They approached the finish line two-and-a-half minutes behind the Irish rider. The two noted climbers, who gave up at least 12 inches of height disadvantage on McCann, were a step or two slower than their taller foreign rival. Four other Filipinos – American Vinyl’s Irish Valenzuela fourth (4:04 behind), Smart’s Joel Calderon fifth (5:01 behind), American Vinyl’s Cris Joven sixth (5:01 behind), Smart’s Oscar Rendole seventh (5:48 behind) and Ferdinand Pablo of American Vinyl ninth (6:51 behind) finished in the top 10 of this stage that offered the winner P84,000 in cash prize. Jaques Janse Van Rensburg of South Africa’s Team DCM placed eighth (6:15 behind), while Germany’s Sascha Damrow of the Hongkong team CCN Sportswear-Colossi dislodged former local Tour champion Arnel Quirimit of Air21 for the 10th place (6:54 behind). Quirimit finished 7:41 after McCann along with American Vinyl’s Ronnel Hualda and Smart’s Joseph Millanes in the first stage of the racing event that has lured six foreign teams competing against 10 local squads. McCann will be awarded both the polka dot (King of the Mountain) and yellow (general classification) jerseys in simple ceremonies kicking off Sunday’s Stage 2—a simple 60.5-km race set over a 12.1-km circuit on Roxas Boulevard, Macapagal and EDSA starting at 10 a.m. Sunday. McCann was also the leader in the sprint classification, while Valenzuela stood up front in the race for the Best Young Rider (under-23) award. American Vinyl led the general team classification with 10:43:59, 2:34 ahead of Smart and 8:16 over 7-Eleven. – GMANews.TV