Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 8 Stage 9 Stage 10 Stage 11 Stage 12 Stage 13 Stage 14 Stage 15 Stage 16 Stage 1, Cagayan de Oro-Iligan-Cagayan de Oro, 174.9 kms:1. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 4.14.39 2. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 1.44 3. Jun Dae Hong (Kor) s.t. 4. Enrique Domingo (Phi) s.t. 5. Gerardo Amar (Phi) s.t. GC after Stage 11. Querimit 4.18.35 2. Wong 1.35 3. Jun 1:40 4. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 2:05 5. Amar 2:07 Stage 1 ReportArnel Querimit of the Philippines won the 174.9km first stage of the Tour of the Philippines between Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Thursday to take the leader's yellow jersey.Hong Kong rider Wong Kam Po led a chasing group of four cyclists who flashed home 1min 44secs behind, to also grab second spot overall. Jin Dae Hong of South Korea is third on the day and overall. Cyclists from Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines are entered in the 2,473.6km race, which this year became part of the Union Cycliste International calendar. Japan's Kenji Shirikawa did not finish the stage. The second stage, a 124.9km circuit around this southern city will be run Friday. The tour ends in Manila on May 3. Stage 2, Cagayan de Oro, 124.9 kms:1. Jun Dae Hong (Kor) 3.23.12 2. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 2.03 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) s.t. 4. Kwen Suen Jong (Kor) 3.34 5. Carlo Jasul (Phi) s.t. GC after Stage 21. Jun 7.43.30 2. Espiritu 2.33 3. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 3:47 4. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 5:17 5. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 5:22 Stage 2 ReportSouth Korean Jun Dae Hong broke clear to win the 124.9km second stage of the Tour of the Philippines on Friday and grab the leader's yellow jersey.Last year's Philippine champion Victor Espiritu came home second, more than two minutes behind, and climbed into second place overall. Overnight leader Arnel Querimit of the Philippines finished in a group of eight, more than five minutes behind. He dropped to third place overall. Cyclists from Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines are entered in the 17-stage, 2,473.6km race, which this year became part of the Union Cycliste Internationale calendar. Indonesia's Handi Mohammad failed to finish the stage. After a rest day, the third stage on Sunday will be over 154.6km from Manila to Tagaytay. Stage 3, Manila-Tagaytay, 154.6 kms:1. Ji Hwan-Sung (Kor) 4.05.58 2. Kwen Suen-Jong (Kor) s.t. 3. Warren Davadilla (Phi) 2.24 4. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 2.55 5. Rex Pitao (Phi) 3.12 Overall after Stage 31. Jun Dae-Hong (Kor) 11.55.01 2. Kwen Suen-Jong (Kor) 1.25 3. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 2.33 4. Davadilla 2.46 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 3.06 Stage 4, Taytay-Lucena, 198.2 kms:1. Jo Ho Sung (Kor) 4.49.33 2. Carlo Jasul (Phi) s.t. 3. Arnel Querimit (Phi) s.t. 4. Placido Valdez (Phi) s.t. 5. Bernard Luzon (Phi) s.t. Overall after Stage 41. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 16.47.40 2. Placido Valdez (Phi) 0.45 3. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 5.11 4. Felix Celeste (Phi) 7.18 5. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 7.23 Stage 5, Lucena-Antipolo, 153.7 kms:1. Sung Hwang Ji (Kor) 3.39.57 2. Wong Kam Po (HK) s.t. 3. Tonton Susanto (Ind) s.t. 4. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) s.t. 5. Leonardo Basibas (Phi) 3.32Overall 1. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 20.35.57 2. Placido Valdez (Phi) 0.45 3. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 5.11 4. Felix Celeste (Phi) 7.18 5. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 7.23 Stage 6, Manila-San Jose City, 154.5 kms:1. Norberto Oconer (Phi) 3.33.35 2. Azizan Manaf (Mas) s.t. 3. Ho Sung Jo (Kor) s.t. 4. Renato Dolosa (Phi) s.t. 5. Gerardo Amar (Phi) s.t. Overall after Stage 61. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 24.12.15 2. Placido Valdez (Phi) 0.45 3. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 3:58 4. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 5:11 5. Felix Celeste (Phi) 5:18 Stage 7, San Jose to Mangatarem, 145.5 km1. Sung Hwang Ji (Kor) 3.22.47 2. Ho Sung Jo (Kor) 1.56 3. Enrique Domingo (Phi) s.t. 4. Noli del Rosario (Phi) 2:03 5. Domingo Villanueva (Phi) 2:18Team time trial, Mangatarem to Dagupan, 42.6 km 1. South Korea 53.20.43 2. Malaysia 55:15.57 3. Nueva Ecija (Philippine provincial team) 55:22.92 4. Hong Kong 55:40.28 5. Philippines 55:43.62 Overall1. Placido Valdez (Phi) 28.33.03 2. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 1.27 3. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 2:36 4. Suen Jong Kwen (Kor) 5:27 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 6:24 Stage 8, Baguio, 199.7 kms:1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 5.45.52 2. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 1.26 3. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 9.03 4. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 9.07 5. Warren Davadilla (Phi) 10.05 Overall:1. Guieb 34.29.20 2. Espiritu 0.32 3. Wong 1.17 4. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 8.31 5. Querimit 8.37 Stage 9, Baguio, 60 kms:1. Sung Hwang-Ji (Kor) 1.05.39 2. Ho Sung-Jo (Kor) 0.24 3. Wong Kam-po (Hkg) 0.44 4. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 0.44 5. Tonton Susanto (Ind) 0.44 Overall:1. Espiritu 35.36.15 2. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 0.25 3. Wong 0.41 4. Dae Hong-Jun (Kor) 7.59 5. Arnel Querimit (Phi) 8.44 Stage 10, San Fernando-Laoag, 206.9 kms:1. Sung Hwang Ji (Kor) 4.55.49 2. Placido Valdez (Phi) s.t. 3. Ernesto de la Pena (Phi) s.t. 4. Rodelio Valdez (Phi) 1.14 5. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 1.18 78. Suen Jong Kwen (Kor) 46:03 (Disq) Overall1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 40.33.22 2. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 0.25 3. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 0.41 4. Placido Valdez (Phi) 7.47 5. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) 7.59 Stage 11, Laoag to Gattaran, 234.9 kms:1. Gerardo Amar (Phi) 6.07.07 2. Ruel Casaljay (Phi) 0.12 3. Sung An (Kor) s.t. 4. Roderick Acosta (Phi) s.t. 5. Carlo Jasul (Phi) 1.02 Overall1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 46.48.43 2. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 0.25 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) 0.35 4. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 0.41 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 5.49 Stage 12, Tuguegarao to Solano, 204.9 kms:1. Sung Hwang Ji (Kor) 5.16.53 2. Stalin Benito (Phi) 0.05 3. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 2.03 4. Arnel Querimit (Phi) s.t. 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) s.t. 73. Eggi Hariman (Ina) disq (timed out) Overall1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 52.07.39 2. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 0.25 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) 0.35 4. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 0.36 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 5.49 Stage 13, Solano-Banaue, 70.5 kms:1. Tonton Susanto (Ina) 2.11.23 2. Sung Hwang Ji (Kor) 1.50 3. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 4:26 4. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 4:47 5. Dae Hong Jun (Kor) s.t. Overall1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 54.23.49 2. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 0.10 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) 1.33 4. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 1:47 5. Tonton Susanto (Ina) 5:50 Stage 14, Lagawe-Cabanatuan, 202.9 kms:1. Ho Sung Jo (Kor) 5.02.20 2. Arnulfo Ferrer (Phi) 0.02 3. Santy Barnachea (Phi) s.t. 4. Domingo Villanueva (Phi) 0.31 5. Effandi Rosli (Mas) 2.09 Overall1. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 59.35.34 2. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 0.10 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) 1.33 4. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 1:47 5. Tonton Susanto (Ina) 5:50 ReportThe 1997 Tour of the Philippines heads for a nailbiting finish this weekend with Hong Kong cyclist Wong Kam Po attempting to become the first foreigner to take the winner's yellow jersey.Wong, 24, shaved 31 seconds off the lead of defending Filipino champion and overall leader Victor Espiritu with strong podium finishes in the last two days, and now lies just 10 seconds off the pace. On Thursday he caught the Filipino rider in the last kilometer of the 70.5-kilometer climb to this mountain town to take third place behind stage winner Tonton Susanto of Indonesia, and a five-second time bonus. Condemned to ride virtually alone by the absence of quality teammates, Wong was also third in the Tuguegarao to Solano stage Wednesday. The rest of the top five are at least 80 seconds further adrift. "As far as I can tell, only Wong is capable of denying Espiritu a back-to-back title," said Tour de France television commentator and former road racer Phil Liggett. The race for victory in the 17-stage, 340,000-dollar tour, which became part of the Union Cycliste International calendar this year, now boils down to a 202.9km downhill stage from Lagawe to Cabanatuan on Friday, and a crucial 39.6km individual time trial from Gapan to Santa Ana on Saturday. The tour, which includes riders from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, ends with a flat and largely ceremonial 80km criterium in Manila on Sunday. Wong was four seconds faster than Espiritu in the 3.3km tour prologue on April 16, the tour's only other time trial. Wong, who won the Tour of the South China Sea last January, arrived in the Philippines last month for his first attempt at the rigorous three-week, 2,472kms Philippines tour. Only 73 of 84 riders who started the race remain in the peloton, which aside from the Wong-Espiritu duel has been dominated by the sprinting prowess of Korean riders. The Korean team captain, Sung Hwang Ji, has won a staggering seven stages including the prologue but failed to seriously threaten for the yellow jersey due to his team's lack of climbing power. Wong started the tour as the most feared foreign rider, with a pedigree forged in the Atlanta Olympics and as the top Asian finisher in the European-dominated Tour of Taiwan last year. He also won the Tour of Okinawa in 1995. "Individual training or hill-climbing practice can be done in Hong Kong," Wong said last month. "But for time trials, we really need to go somewhere else because we don't have the space in Hong Kong to train for this kind of cycling." Stage 15, Nueva Ecija to Santa Ana, 37.8 kms:1. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 47.24 2. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 1.29 3. Dean Pinile (Phi) 2.15 4. Placido Valdez (Phi) 2.20 5. Renato Dolosa (Phi) 2.45 Overall1. Wong Kam Po (Hkg) 60.26.54 2. Victor Espiritu (Phi) 1.19 3. Placido Valdez (Phi) 3.43 4. Carlo Guieb (Phi) 5.24 5. Tonton Susanto (Ina) 8.35 Final Two Stages - ReportHong Kong Olympian Wong Kam Po destroyed the field in a masterful time trial display Saturday to virtually assure himself of becoming the first foreign champion of the Tour of the Philippines.Wong used the 37.8-kilometer (23.4-mile) Gapan to Santa Ana stage to turn a 10-second overnight deficit into a 1mins 19secs advantage, ripping the yellow jersey off the back of defending champion Victor Espiritu of the Philippines. Wong benefited from a bad fall by Espiritu early in the race, leaving the defending Filipino champion with bruises on his right arm and thigh. The Filipino national rider is now faced with the near impossible task of trying to overcome the deficit in the 80-km Manila criterium final stage Sunday. The tour, which includes riders from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, ends with a flat and largely ceremonial criterium to a national park in Manila on Sunday. Wong seems set to claim the 500,000-peso (19,230-dollar) champion's purse and a brand new Nissan car as prizes. Wong, who won the Tour of the South China Sea last January, arrived in the Philippines last month for his first attempt at the rigorous three-week, 2,472kms Philippines tour. He started the tour as the most feared foreign rider, with a pedigree forged in the Atlanta Olympics and as the top Asian finisher in the European-dominated Tour of Taiwan last year. He also won the Tour of Okinawa in 1995. The tour became part of the Union Cycliste Internationale calendar this year. Hong Kong Olympian Wong Kam Po won the Tour of the Philippines on Sunday, becoming the first foreign champion of the event which opened to international competition just this year. |