The Philippines kicked off its campaign at the 13th Binh Duong Women's Cycling Championship - Biwase Cup 2023 with a podium finish on Wednesday in Vietnam.
The team of Kate Yasmin Velasco, Marianne Dacumos, Mathilda Krog, Avegail Rombaon and Mhay Ann Linda placed third behind local squads Cong Ty Cp Tap Doan Loc Troi and Tuyep TP. Hcm Vinama after the 66-kilometer criterium around Binh Duong New City.
All three teams registered accumulated clocking of 10 hours, four minutes and 48 seconds (total time of the five riders) with the team classification determined by the order of finish of the individual riders.
Velasco ranked eighth and Dacumos 10th in the provisional individual results and later wound up 10th and 12th, respectively, after the time and sprint bonuses were applied for the general classification. Rombaon, Krog and Linda were in 17th, 24th and 26th in the field of 90 cyclists spread out over 18 teams from the host country, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiawan, Thailand and Kazakhstan.
Maneephan Julatip of Thailand won the race in one hour, 40 minutes and 36 seconds while Nguyen Thi Thu Mai of Vietnam (1:40:40) was second followed by Nur Aisyah Binti Mohd Zubir of Malaysia (1:40:41).
Velasco, Dacumos, Rombaon and Krog are members of the Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance team, while Linda, competing in her first international tournament, is from Team Excellent.
Maura de los Reyes and Jelsie Sabado, who rode for the Kazakhstan Women Junior Team with three Kazakhs, finished 63rd and 66th, respectively.
The national road team coached by Marita Lucas, Alfie Catalan and Joey de los Reyes is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Tagaytay City, MVP Sports Foundation, Standard Insurance, Excellent Noodles and 7-Eleven.
The 10-stage Biwase Cup, held annually in celebration of International Women's Day, is the first international exposure for the Philippine team preparing for the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games in May.
The competition is livestreamed on https://www.facebook.com/vcfchannel/posts/pfbid0JWL3EfCcczQdEMuN7aZTHTpnDKxn8QG2dB7Y8Ur9VwC7NLw8yYkS8zKTxEWA54b
Source: Philippines News Agency
