August 26, Sunday. It was a busy week for me. I resumed my training with the road team last Monday, August 20. I was also informed that I will be leaving on September 3, Monday, with a coach to join the Asian Cycling Championships for Track in Bangkok. I will be racing in scratch and point race with Sir Steve Pelaez from California. Wala daw uling pressure to win. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag dahil hindi naman ako pinag-eensayo para sa mga events na yun. After the races in track, I and the coach will then proceed to Ratchacima for the road racing events, and meet the rest of the road team there. Kasali ako massed start and itt. Napakaimportante ng race na ito dahil according sa info na binigay ng coaching staff, doon din gagawin ang road racing sa SEAGames. An opportunity to study the place and possible routes before the big event in December. I still don’t know the exact dates of my events but was informed that the team will be back in Manila on September 12, Wednesday. Due to conflict in schedule, I have to turn down a couple of race invitations from organizers. The first race is the 4th Leg of Criterium Grand Prix on September 2, Sunday in Tarlac. The second is a multi-stage race, the Tour of Cebu. Nagkaroon din ng balita na I requested to have it postponed para makasali ako. Pero hindi yun totoo at hindi ko kahit kailan gagawin yun to be able to join a race at the expense of other cyclists. (more…)
August 8, Wednesday morning. I was on my way to the airport in the middle of a storm and flooded streets. Natatakot na ako noon na baka pasukin na ng tubig ang sinasakyan namin. Buti na lang hindi kami tumirik at nakarating din sa airport almost 3 hours before the team’s 10 am flight to Bangkok. The team stayed in a hotel provided by the organiser, but we were informed that our accommodations will be until Sunday, August 12, only. We have to pay for our accommodations for the extra night before our flight home on August 13, Monday. Since limited lang talaga ang budget at kailangan talagang magtipid at magbayad sa accomodations before the race and pay for uniforms, the team decided na pupunta na lang sa airport pagkatapos ng karera. Buti na lang naawa ang organiser ng malaman nila na the whole team will sleep in the airport on Sunday night and wait there till our afternoon flight the next day. They extended our free accommodations for one night. Many thanks for their generosity.
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TEAM PURSUIT QUALIFYING
12 laps in 333 meters velodrome
Total distance: 4km
Time: 4mins 37 secs (my knowledge, but I don’t have a copy of the official results)
Average speed: 51.98 kph
August 11, Saturday. Still tired from point race in the morning but have to prepare and warm up for my next race, team pursuit. The race should start at 3pm but was moved later in the afternoon due to rain and consequently wet track. There was a target time made by the coach that will serve as our basis if we’re having the right speed or slowing down. (more…)
30 km point race
90 laps in 333 meters velodrome
Participants: 2 entries per country; Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Philippines
August 14 Manila. Its been 5 long years since my last major race on the track in Busan, South Korea Asian Games last 2002. At dahil sa Thailand ko na nalaman kung ano ang event na sasalihan ko, nagulat ako na I will be competing in point race. I am not expecting that I will be entered for two reasons. First, I was not trained for such event. Ang natatandaan ko lang, once lang kami nagsimulate nun, wala na. Second, I was not asked to bring a standard handle bar that is typically used in massed start events like point race. Pero wala namang pressure from the staff na manalo basta maglaro lang, kaya ok lang. (more…)
Hi to all,
Victor’s family was having a hard time contacting him until now. The hotel operator kept on connecting their calls to a wrong room. Finally, news came in. He was 5th in the point race. Iran took the gold while Korea and Japan took the silver and the bronze respectively. He is very happy with his performance because he was able to beat top cyclists in Asia and even the world champ and consistent medalists in this event. Unfortunately, his teammate Alfie Catalan was overlapped 3 times so he was asked to stop and not to finish the race. In the team pursuit, Victor and his teammates won the bronze medal. They won it with pride since they beat Hong Kong in the battle for bronze. The team also broke last year’s record by 7seconds. Korea bagged the gold while Iran settled for silver. Victor did not compete for his favorite track event, individual pursuit, because its schedule is too close with his other events and only one entry, supposedly SEAG gold medalist Alfie Catalan, is allowable. Congatulations to our Champ and to his teammates for their very well deserved win. The team will arrive at 6 in the evening tomorrow.
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