Cross Country Marathon World Series: Pinoy mountain bikers dominate Nuvali qualifiers | ABS-CBN

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Cross Country Marathon World Series: Pinoy mountain bikers dominate Nuvali qualifiers

Cross Country Marathon World Series: Pinoy mountain bikers dominate Nuvali qualifiers

ABS-CBN News

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Five Filipinos finished atop the podium at the Cross Country Marathon World Series qualifying race in Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Photo by Art C. Fuentes

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino mountain bikers proved their mettle as they took the top spots at the Cross Country Marathon World Series qualifying race in Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The race, one of the few events in the country sanctioned by the International Cycling Union or UCI, included several international athletes. But in the end, the local bikers were dominant on their own home turf.

Japanese biker Matoshi Kadota won the men’s open category, but veteran Pinoy mountain bikers Alvin Benosa and Eboy Quiñones took second and third places respectively.

Benosa crossed the finish line nearly three minutes after Kadota, while Quiñones finished almost five minutes after the Japanese.

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Quiñones almost collapsed at the finish line out of fatigue after biking 90 kilometers on muddy and, at times, technical trails.

In the women’s open, it was an all-Filipino affair.

Ariana Dormitorio cemented her status as the best female mountain biker in the country by taking the title in a convincing fashion.

She was followed by Melissa Jaroda and Avegail Rombaon. Last year’s women’s XCM winner, Portuguese biker Ilda Pereira, was unable to finish the race.

Dormitorio, currently the UCI Asia Mountainbike Series overall champion, collected more precious UCI points in her campaign to represent the country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Her strong showing in Nuvali also makes her eligible to join next year’s World Mountain Bike Championship in Germany.

Rains over the weekend made the trails at Nuvali muddier and more difficult compared to previous years. The XC Marathon was also lengthened.

“This year, we took the competition up a notch with new and longer routes at 90 kilometers from 70 km last year,” said Geoff Kronenburg, the UCI’s technical delegate.

Kronenburg said the longer route was designed to challenge the local and international cycling community with a noteworthy qualifying race.

Besides the 90-km cross-country marathon, Dirt Weekend also held a 35-km cross-country fun race for weekend warriors.

More than a thousand bikers participated in the fun race which featured age categories ranging from 15 to 19 years old, to 50 years old and older.

Nuvali Dirt Weekend’s organizers also added a “fat bike” category to the cross country race for bikes with four-inch tires.

Over the years, Nuvali has become a popular destination for mountain bikers in Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite.

Nuvali Dirt Weekend has also become one of the most anticipated events in the Philippine mountain biking community. Over 1500 bikers regularly take part in the event each year since the first Dirt Weekend held in 2009.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.

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