Dubbed as the Sports Adventure Capital of the Philippines, Camarines Sur, under the leadership of Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte, once again welcomed sports adventurers to its doors with the Rincon XC, the biggest long-distance mountain bike race in the Bicol Region. Governor Migz, himself a bike enthusiast, gave his all-out support to the mountain bike race that transpired last March 20, 2022, Sunday, at the University of Saint Anthony in Iriga City.
“We have two major objectives for having a race today. Number 1 is now that the COVID cases in Camarines Sur and Philippines continue to drop and majority of the population is vaccinated, it’s time to promote healthy and active lifestyle because if there is one lesson we learned in this pandemic, that is if you are fit and healthy, you have a higher chance of survival. Number 2 is promoting Iriga City, promoting Rinconda, and promoting the province of Camarines Sur when it comes to sports and tourism,” Governor Migz said as he welcomed racers and guests in USANT.
With a 75-kilometer epic bike route that traverses the upper barangays of Iriga City, Baao, and Buhi, Camarines Sur, Rincon XC gathered over 400 participants from all over Bicol and even outside the region. Rincon stands for the Rinconada District, where the race transpired, while XC stands for cross country as the race was held in a one-loop open course, with a combination of road and off-road route.
As a visionary leader, Governor Migz has planned for Rincon XC not only to be the biggest long-distance MTB race in the region in terms of participant count, trail distance, and quality, but to also level up racing in the region using the ultimate timing system for bike race that ensures the accuracy of results and upholds the level of professionalism throughout the race.
Rincon XC partnered with Stampede, a mobile application with a timing system that uses RFID on the participants and sensors on the race course. Stampede app is an end-to-end management system for sporting events. It has been used in SEA games’ duathlon and triathlon events. Participants registered by downloading the Stampede app and creating their personal account. The app records accurate and real-time leaderboards as participants crossed the finish line, keeping them updated with their performance.
“I am truly, very happy for having joined this race. The route is epic, the trail is beautiful, and I was very excited to be back and race in Bicol after 2 years,” shared Archie Duran who ranked first in the open category with 2:23:14 time.
Duran and his team, Go for Gold, biked all the way from Bulacan to Camarines Sur to join the Rincon XC. According to him, apart from the race, the time-in chip is what sets this race apart from the others. From start to finish, it was all accurate.
Crossing the finish line in split second from Duran that gained uproar in USANT is a local of Iriga City. Enzo Relloso, a member of Team Soven and Devel Project, is from San Juan Iriga City and he finished the race 2:23:14 time.
“I consider this as one of the highlights of my MTB career. We used to be the ones who have to go all the way to join races in other provinces until now. This is huge step up for our local mountain bikers because now, bikers from different parts of the country have come to our province and it gives me pride that we are able to showcase the beautiful trails of CamSur,” shared by the enthusiastic Relloso.
As a local of Iriga and a gradute of USANT, Relloso is beyond ecstatic for winning in his homecourt. He dedicated his win not only to his family, girlfriend, and teammates, but to all the local bikers and residents of Rinconada.
Also among the participants are esteemed members of the country’s MTB National Team Eusebia Nicole Quiñones and Coach Eboy Quiñones, with the special participation of the number one women’s elite athlete in the Philippines and Asia’s Queen of Trails, Ariana Evangelista.
“Rincon XC is really fun and I’m happy I get to be here. The view during the race is really beautiful and we also felt safe despite the number of bikers who joined.” As a preparation for the SEA Games, Eusebia Nicole Quiñones joins races as a tune up race to ready her training.
As a woman in a male-dominated sports, Quiñones did not fail to inspire women considering mountain biking as sports. “To all the women out there, yes, it is tough and yes, we have to fight our fears and reservations but we can do it. Let us show that if a man can do it, we can confidently do it too. We need more women in cycling community so join us,” optimistically encouraged Quiñones.
To ensure the safety of the participants and organizers despite the pandemic, minimum health protocols were strictly implemented prior, during, and after the event. The race course was also secured with the help of the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Public Works and Highways, and member agencies of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“I lost control on the trail and fell down. Good thing that the medical team responded very well. They were prompt in responding to my needs. They gave me a whole-body x-ray, they cleaned my bruises, and they also gave pain medications and antibiotics,” recounted Karen Chan Baldon of Mayon Tri Team, Legazpi City.
Apart from the manpower of the response team, the Provincial Government put up a hospital-on-site bringing with them the Mobile Diagnostics Van to effectively ensure the safety of the participants and organizers.
Baldon also added that with the presence of the mobile clinic and the medical team, she felt safer during the race and even after her accident. Despite falling twice and having several stops during the race, Baldon was still able to become a podium finisher after crossing the finish line in 2nd place for the women age group category.
With the overwhelming turnout of the event, Governor Migz proudly announced a bigger, better, and bolder Rincon XC next year.
