Lim bags bronze in Asian cycling championships

Rustom Lim bagged the men’s junior road race bronze medal in Thursday’s 18th Asian Youth Cycling Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Lim, the pride of now cycling hotbed Guimba in Nueva Ecija, clocked three hours, one minute and 45 seconds, same as gold medal winner Wong Hong of South Korea and runner-up Wong Pi Sien of Hongkong in the competition for Under-18 Asian riders. The three finished at the tip of a massed finish — with Lim missing out on a better result by a mere half-a-wheel’s length. The race took the 42-rider field around an 11.2-kilometer circuit for a 120-km total distance (11 laps). Lim, the Philippines’ No. 1 junior rider who topped the December PhilCycling national open in Tagaytay, rode with the lead group for most of the way and was very much in the fight in the sprint finish of the race that was staged on a winding circuit. Lim’s podium finish practically made him the darling of the Youth Championships, because it was the Philippines’ first medal in an Asian-level competition since the now-retired Victor Espiritu’s bronze in the Men’s Elite of road race in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. All member countries of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, International Cycling Union) are also aware of PhilCycling’s predicament at the moment. "It’s a big accomplishment and it is proof that Philippine cycling is alive and a program is in place, regardless of the crisis we are made to suffer in the federation," said Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol" Tolentino. Tolentino is the president of PhilCycling, which is recognized by the ACC and the UCI, but not by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). "Inspite of the absence of government support, PhilCycling needed to send Rustom to the competition because we are very aware of his caliber," said Tolentino. “Rustom grew up under PhilCycling’s program and we don’t want to waste his ability." It was Lim’s first international exposure as one of the three Filipino riders sent to Nakhon Ratchasima, host of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, by PhilCycling without any government support. The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) suspended its financial support for all national cyclists because of the leadership issue hounding the cycling federation. Veterans Irish Valenzuela and Tots Oledan will compete in the 160-km Men’s Elite road race on Saturday in the 31st Asian Cycling Championships. The small Philippine team is accompanied by coach Cesar Lobramonte. – JVP, KY, GMA News