The four athletes were merely part of the 100-person fun ride designed to give bikers – both local and from overseas – a taste of what’s to come on Dec. 4.
Garcia proved to be the fastest overall and in the men’s road bike category, completing the 50-kilometer course in one hour, 38 minutes, and 11.75 seconds. Following him at the finish line was Lewie Tenorio, who finished second with 1:38:13.18. Butch Sublemente trailed Tenorio by fractions of a second, clocking in at 1:38:13.32.
Coming from the Philippines a day prior to the event, Garcia was pleased with his results. He plans to take on Guam’s road race next week, totaling his win-streak to 10 this year. Both Garcia and Sublemente aim to finish strong after tackling the actual HOM race.
Pro triathlete Mieko Carey dominated the women’s road bike category after finishing the course in one hour, 40 minutes, and 59.5 seconds. Kimiko Hasegawa earned second place, coming in at 2:46:35, while third place winner Kanae Quinn came two minutes later.
Nap Dizon snatched the number one spot in the men’s mountain bike category with a record of 1:44:28.72, while Noel Alamirano came second at 1:46:06.12. Joining them in the top three was Bob Ferrer, who came with Alamirano at the finish line. In the women’s category, Mamiko Oshima-Berger was accompanied in the top three by Jackie Van Dam and Maricel Mahilum.
Unlike the pre-race, participants in the actual HOM event will be guaranteed support from the Department of Public Safety. Aside from its coordinator, Cole Pritchard, the pre-HOM fun ride was made possible by volunteers from PIC.
