PHL, Pinoy cyclist improve UCI Asia Tour rankings

Baler Rabina's victory in last month’s Le Tour de Filipinas pushed the Philippines to fourth overall in the Asian region in the International Cycling Union (Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI) rankings. Rabina also moved up to 30th place in the Asian cyclists' individual standings while teenage sensation Rustom Lim, the 19-year-old Under-23 Best Young Rider of the recent Le Tour, made it to No. 91. The 31-year-old Rabina, who rode for Go21 cycling club team, is the 14th Asian on the Top 30 list. Veteran Wong Kam Po of Hong Kong-China tops the list. Joel Calderon (52), Oscar Rendole (58) John Mark Galedo Guevarra (102), Arnel Quirimit (105) and Irish Valenzuela (144) are the other Filipino veterans that also made it to the UCI Asian rankings. The Philippines also jumped from 12th to fourth overall in the Asia Tour nations' rankings behind perennial topnotchers Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Indonesia and China are ranked below the Philippines. LPGMA-American Vinyl, Mail and More and Go21 also finished 1-2-3 in the Le Tour, beating 11 foreign teams—including five UCI continental teams on the top 26 Asian list—and two other local squads. — JVP, GMA News