Leslie Gitaruelas (top of the podium) during the awarding ceremony of the Queen of the Mountain road bike race. Joining her are her older sister Lovely (3rd) and Karen Andrea Manayon (2nd), and the organizers from the Sugbo Cycle. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — “Exhausting and unexpected.” This was how the inaugural “Queen of the Mountain” champion Leslie Gitaruelas described her spectacular performance in the grueling road bike race held last Thursday, July 27, 2023.
The 23-year-old Cebuana cyclist, the daughter of one of Cebu’s best female long-distance runners, Liezl Gitaruelas, surprised everyone, including the top bets of the all-female race, which covered a total of 101 kilometers after she crossed the finish line as the first overall.
“I didn’t expect nga ma first ko. Naka race na nako sila sa National Trials Road Race and layo ko ug gap nila. Sa Foressa nga race nag lisud nako, nag ka side stitch pa until sa finish line,” Gitaruelas recalled.
“It was exhausting kay Transcentral Highway (TCH) na gud na. The race was super challenging, but I remained calm lang jud, pero deep inside grabe na kulba.”
Gitaruelas revealed that one of her key advantages was her familiarity of the route, especially during the climb in TCH.
The 101k route had an ascent of over 1,800 meters when the 30-plus all-female cyclists started to climb from Balamban to TCH in the last stretch of the race.
“My advantage was I know the route well. I paced myself when I got dropped in Brgy. Cansomoroy. At that point, I was in seventh place. My coaches told me before that don’t go into the red zone too early,” Gitaruelas said.
Fellow Cebuana and elite triathlete Karen Andrea Manayon finished second, while Gitaruelas’ older sister, Lovely, followed in third.
Aside from the P30,000 purse, Gitaruelas will represent the country in an international race as promised by the organizers from Sugbo Cycle as part of her winnings.
She revealed that she trained for a month for this race right after she also competed in the National Trials in Tagaytay, where she finished seventh.
“I dedicate this race to myself, of course, to my team GGC, to the people who supported me, who believed in me. The next plan is to compete with Taiwan KOM this October,” Gitaruelas said.
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