Foreigners in Tour a great benefit to local riders

Ronnilan Quita: It was hard for us to be at par with them. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Ronnilan Quita believes the presence of foreign riders in the recent MPTC Tour of Luzon provided a different element for locals, who, in the long term, benefited from their clashes during the 14-stage, two-week summer spectacle on wheels.

Quita wound up a fighting fifth and was the second-best Filipino cyclist of the derby on wheels after consistent finishes against a fancied international field led by champion Nikita Shulchenko and Quita’s French teammate, Antoine Huby.

“It’s a big thing for us because we learned a lot from them,” the 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines standout said in Filipino.

Shulchenko, the Russian who represented LCW UAE Cycle, won by displaying all-around talent on sprints and in the climbs, practically putting the result to bed after the first individual time trial.

And there was Huby, who made a late push after conquering the punishing ascents of Bessang Pass in Stage 10, Daang Kalikasan in Stage 12 and Kennon Road heading towards Baguio in the 14th and final lap.

Huby, who the previous year participated in the UCI World Team, settled for second place just a minute and 34 seconds behind Shulchenko. But he went on to take the Eagle of the Mountain award.

“We faced a lot of quality international riders this year compared to last year and it was hard for us to be at par with them,” said Quita.

The 31-year-old came to the Tour as the national champion, having won the men’s elite road race of the National Road Championships.

Falling just short

During the Tour, Quita produced three third-place finishes while also showing his capability in the climb, even carrying the polka dot jersey as KOM winner before falling short to Huby.

He was also the most combative rider after Stage 9 in Candon, Ilocos Sur, and could have possibly won that lap had Quita not gone the wrong direction entering the final kilometer to the finish.

The native of Camiling, Tarlac, was in contention to place fourth and be the highest Filipino finisher, but was dislodged from that spot by MPT DriveHub’s Nash Lim.

Quita lost out to Lim by 1:21 after accumulating 41 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds, 10:34 behind the champion Shulchenko.

“I’m very happy with the way I performed in this Tour because I felt that our training and preparation bore fruit,” Quita said.