Sabornido loses Leyte home but saves bike then wins in Stage 2 of Chigo Cycling Criterium

The house of Peter Sabornido was washed away by supertyphoon Yolanda last November but that didn’t take away his fighting spirit as shown by the 59 year old  winning Stage 2 of the Golden B category of the Chigo Cycling Criterium yesterday at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City.

Sabornido is temporarily living in barangay Pardo in Cebu City as a result of the tragedy that befell Leyte and some parts of the Visayas late last year, wherein thousands of lives and homes were lost.

But Sabornido was able to save his bike and that turned out to be a blessing. That same bike was what he used in winning the stage yesterday. He took the lead during the early goings and held on until the finish line to get the morale-boosting win.

When asked when he is going back to his hometown, Sabornido said: “I have no idea. We have no electricity yet for the homes, only the street lighting. Besides, I’ve learned to like Cebu because cycling here is active.”

Just a minute behind him was Abellana National School’s athletics head coach Bert Banzon followed by Stage 1 winner Ana Patricia Maximo of the YKKBikes.com and Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus. Rogelio Basirgo, who unluckily suffered a flat tire in the last lap, finished fourth.

The high intensity criterium race, promoted by Cebu MultiSport, was shortened to a 10-lap, 25-kilometer distance due to the rain coupled  with strong winds.

The race started fast with an early breakaway formed by the group of Sabornido and Banzon. The chase group headed by Basirgo and Maximo tried to bridge the gap cruising at a speed of 37 kilometers per hour (kph).  It was a fruitless bid as Sabornido and Banzon escaped successfully by reaching speeds as fast as 52 kph.

Jovan Delica dominated the Men’s Category B followed by Gino Basirgo in second place and Jun Dorimon at third.