NAGA CITY—Jerry Aquino Jr. save his best for a sprint ending to Tuesday’s Stage 3 not only to emerge the day’s fastest but also the new leader of the 10th Ronda Pilipinas.
Displaying the pedigree from his sprinter dad Jerry Sr. who pulled off similar conquests in the fabled Marlboro Tour, Aquino burned rubber for Scratch It in another wild finish to dominate the short but hilly 119-kilometer stage from Legazpi City in two hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds.
Aquino, 27, edged Go for Gold skipper Ronnel Hualda and Bicycology-Army’s Dominic Perez in a massed finish.
“It was always my dream to wear the leader’s jersey so it was really a dream come true,” Aquino said.
The 10-second bonus from the stage win gave Aquino a temporary ownership of the leader’s red jersey with a seven-second edge over two-day leader Mark Julius Bordeos of Army-Bicocylogy.
Hualda settled for second, Dominic Perez of Team Army-Bicycology was third, Under-23 standout Aidan James Mendoza of 7-Eleven was fourth and two-time champion Jan Paul Morales was fifth.
Celeste Cycling Team’s Roel Quitoy, Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance’s Junrey Navarra and Go for Gold’s Ronnilan Quita jumped from the peloton in the climb in Sagñay 50 kms to the finish.
The peloton, however, caught up with the leaders in the Camarines Sur capital of Pili, making the race a sprint inside the last 5 kms.
The race resumes on Wednesday with Stage 4—the longest at 206 kms—from Daet in Camarines Norte to Lucena City.