MANILA, Philippines – International rookie Nikko Cortez was at the forefront of another strong showing last Friday of the Roadbike Philippines-711 cyclists, who wheeled into 6th overall in the team standings after the 178-kilometer 4th Stage of the Binh Duong TV Tour of Vietnam.

Cortez captured 7th place and was part of the huge 37-man main bunch in the leg that began in Quang Nai, near of the site of the infamous My Lai Massacre, and ended in the seaport town of Quy Nhon, cradle of the national Vietnamese martial art of tuong.

A protégé of Roadbike Philippines president Bong Sual, the squad’s team manager, Cortez timed four hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds, 14 seconds behind Mongolian stage winner Tuguldur Tuulkhangai, the yellow jersey wearer, who logged 4:17.31.

Also clocking the same time were seasoned campaigner Merculio Ramos, who won Thursday’s third stage, and Mark Rhome Antonio, who finished ninth and 26th, respectively, in the stint sanctioned by PhilCycling headed by Tagaytay Mayor Bambol Tolentino.

Tour veteran Lloyd Lucien Reynante also highlighted a fruitful day for the Filipino riders after ruling the first intermediate sprint in the trip also supported by Columbia Sportswear.

Reynante likewise broke into the top 20 of the overall individual rankings and was now in 20th spot with an aggregate clocking of 10:40.34, one minute and 53 minutes behind frontrunner Tuulkhanghai.

Antonio (10:41.42), Cortez (10:41.52) and Ramos (10:41.54) also made inroads and were now at No. 29, 31 and 34, respectively, in the standings.

But Mark Guevarra, the 2009 Tour of Luzon champion, was down in 63rd place among the 74 riders at 10:54.49, still reeling from the effects of a fever that struck him after being drenched from rains caused by a typhoon that plagued the first two legs.

The RP-711 team moved up a notch to No. 6 with a cumulative time of 32:01.44, 4:46 off the leading team of Domesco Thong Tap (31:56.58).

Friday’s fifth stage was a 120-km. race from Quy Nhon to Tuy Hoa, with an intermediate sprint at the 60-km. mark.