Irish cyclist leads Tour of the Philippines

Irish pro David McCann remains firmly in control of things at the Tour of the Philippines, retaining the yellow jersey in the race when he finished safely in the main bunch.

McCann had an excellent performance on yesterday’s opening stage, soling to victory in Tagaytay City while today he held onto the race lead following a routine bunch-finish throughout the 60 kilometre stage around the capital Manilla.

The Belfast rider broke clear yesterday during the 148.9 kilometre leg, and used his time trial ability to build a final gap of two minutes and 30 seconds over his nearest rivals, the Filipinos Lloyd Lucien Reynante (7-Eleven Racing Team) and Baler Ravina (Batang Tagaytay).

The next three chasers, Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl LPGMA), Joel Calderon (Smart) and Cris Joven (American Vinyl LPGMA) were all over four minutes back, handing McCann a considerable advantage at the start of the four-day, 2.2-ranked race.

He is now in the same position as in the Tour of Taiwan, where he also won the opening stage and took over the first leader’s jersey.

He went on to defend from start to finish, and will aim to do the same in the Philippines.