The members of the Rotary Club of Saipan and Rotary International District 2750 Governor Yoichiro Miyazaki pose for a photo.
Robyn Spaeth smiles as she crosses the finish line of the 2024 Rotary Club of Saipan “End Polio Now” Cycling Challenge at Banzai Cliff on Saturday.
Joel Buco approaches the finish line of the 2024 Rotary Club of Saipan “End Polio Now” Cycling Challenge at Banzai Cliff on Saturday.
VETERAN bikers Joel Buco and Robyn Spaeth finished first in their respective long-course divisions of the 2024 Rotary Club of Saipan “End Polio Now” Cycling Challenge on Saturday.
The 30K course started at Banzai Cliff and brought racers to the turnaround point at Saipan Select and then further north to the second turnaround point at Bird Island before returning to Banzai Cliff.
Buco maintained the lead while the rest of the competition trailed behind. He finished first with a time of 55:06.
Buco said the race was tough because of the strong winds. He had not been training lately because of work, but he decided to join the event anyway. He said “the course was hard so not a lot of people were with me in the lead. I had the lead all to myself while the rest of the bikers were just going at their own steady pace.”
In second place was Renren Gaviola with a time of 56:25 followed by Paolo Pepito with a time of 56:27.
Women’s division
In the women’s division, Spaeth claimed first place with a time of 58:17.
“I think this is a wonderful event and a great cause,” said Spaeth who had the opportunity to ride with her husband and two children
Speath, who has been biking for around 10 years now, went head-to-head with her friendly rival, Kimiko McKagan, who is also her coach and mentor. “I was nervous the whole time. I was just trying not to fall,” Spaeth said.
In second place was McKagan at 58:44 while Jay Anne Felipe finished third at 59:26.
Age categories
The top three for each age category were also recognized.
Among the below 40 riders, JRD Villamin led the men’s division with a time of 58:08 followed by Daniell Pablo at 58:20 and Bodie Barrios at 58:38. The women’s division was led by JC Ferrer with a time of 1:05:52.
In the 40 to 49 age group, Fred Remillosa led the men’s with a time of 56:32 followed by Michiteru Mita at 58:08, and Ferdz Licayan at 58:55 while Marjorie Ganacias led the women’s with a time of 1:14:07.
In the men’s 50 to 59 age group, Leo Baetiong finished first with a time of 56:45 followed by Noel Altamirano at 58:13 and Vasily Karpov at 1:01:48.
In the men’s 60 and above age group, Willy Barbo led with a finish time of 59:57 followed by Greg Clark at 1:03:01, and Edgardo Abalos at 1:03:40.
The results of the short and kids courses will be featured in Variety’s next edition.
‘End Polio Now’
The Rotary Club of Saipan said the cycling challenge aims to raise funds to support the Rotarians’ world-wide “End Polio Now” campaign, and also to welcome Rotary International District 2750 Governor Yoichiro Miyazaki to the island.
“Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years,” Miyazaki said in a statement on Saturday. “We are very close to achieving our goal of ridding the world of polio. Polio eradication is Rotary’s top priority. I have raised over 20 million yen [about $134,000] by riding my road bike 2,800 kilometers across Japan on World Polio Day in October 2022. Today, the Rotary Club of Saipan organized this polio eradication event. I hope that all of you will join me in raising awareness of Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio and help us do our part. Let’s have a fun and injury-free cycling today I will ride slowly as it is my first time to ride this course.”
