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[av_heading heading=’Ilongga Dormitorio hailed Asian Motorbike champ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Filipina mountain biker Ariana Dormitorio came out as the overall champion in the Women’s Elite Cross Country Olympic event of the 2016 Asian Mountain Bike Series held at Kuchang, Malaysia.
Despite placing second in the third and final leg of the event, the Iloilo City-native Dormitorio still emerged as the overall champion by virtue of her opening leg victory in Ranau, Malaysia last August.
The 19-year-old Dormitorio finished the event with a total of 38 points. Finishing behind Dormitorio are Thais Nuntana Sur Puksorn and Warinthorn Phetprapharn, who both had 36 points.
Dormitorio, who ruled the Southeast Asian MTB Series before, made a strong start in the final leg as she shrugged off her last place seeding to take the lead in the second lap of the 19-kilometer trek.
But Dormitorio encountered several crashes in the latter laps due to heavy downpour rendering the roads slippery. Sur Puksorn took advantage of Dormitorio’s miscues to clinch the leg victory.
“The race course was very challenging due to the rains hours before the race,” Dormitorio’s head coach Donjie Dormitorio told Sports Radio 918 AM. “There were also steep sections that were not rideable even for the male elites.”
Since there will be no motorbiking event in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, Dormitorio will instead be preparing for the two legs of the World Cup under-23 category and the World Championships under-23 in Australia.
Meanwhile, Cebuano rider Jun Duron emerged as the overall champion in the Masters A Cross Country event. Durom compiled 52 points to clinch the championship despite not topping a single leg./PN
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