Youngsters dominate PhilCycling track trials

Youngsters George Oconer and Irish Valenzuela both dominated their respective events in Tuesday’s PhilCycling track trials at the Amoranto Velodrome in Quezon City that guaranteed them of slots on the national team to the 2011 Asian Cycling Championships. The 18-year-old Oconer ruled the one-kilometer event with a time of one minute and 14.96 seconds, beating veteran Nilo Estayo (1:15.33) and Merculio Ramos (1:15.876) in the race staged at the concrete 400-meter track. The son of bemedaled former national team member and now coach Norberto Oconer, the youngster who trained in Melbourne and rode the track events of the Guangzhou 16th Asian Games also dominated the sprint. Oconer beat Estayo and Reinhard Gorantes in the sprint to virtually snatch one of four berths to the Asian Cycling Championships in Bangkok on February 9 to 20, 2011. Valenzuela, the 23-year-old who is one of the dreaded road riders in the country, topped the individual pursuit with a time of 5:22.00. He beat junior rider Rustom Lim (5:24.60) and natural track cyclist Ronald Gorantes (5:25.00). PhilCycling president and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol" Tolentino said the top placers in the trials would be prioritized for the national team to the Asian championships. The track trials were conducted after the national open for road last December 8 in Tagaytay City and Batangas. Tomas Martinez, Renato Sembrano and Joel Calderon finished 1-2-3 in the Tagaytay City to Tagaytay City 150K massed start race for men’s elite, while Rustom Lim, Kenneth Solis and John Mark Camingao stood on the podium of the 130-km junior category. Ramos ruled the 40-km individual time trial in Balayan, Batangas, followed by Guangzhou Asian Games veteran Lloyd Reynante and Martinez. The national open for mountain bike will be staged in Danao City, Cebu, and will be managed by Councilor Oscar “Boying" Rodriguez Jr., who is also the PhilCycling chairman and a UCI international commissaire for mountain bike. – KY. JVP, GMANews.TV