SAN JOSE, Tarlac – Tomas Martinez of Smart knew the terrain so well and cashed in on it to seize Stage 5 of the 2010 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) Tour of Luzon last Wednesday at the Tarlac Monastery here.

And while most of the riders were caught off-guard by the challenging landscape, Martinez hardly encountered any difficulty after three hours, six minutes and 11.61 seconds for a solo finish at the end of their 145-kilometer ride from Clark, Pampanga.

“I’ve been training in these hills for a long time,” said the 29-year-old RP team rider from Baras-Baras, Tarlac in Filipino. “I’ts difficult but I’ve gotten used to it.”

Dennis Von Nickalk of EMG Cycling came 12.43 seconds later followed by Arnel Quirimit of Liquigaz (50.18), Kelly Benefit skipper Reid Mumford (1:02.78), American Vinyl’s Cris Joven (1:27.3) and Tots Oledan (1:33.27), Batang Tagaytay’s Daniel Asto (1:33.27), and Alfredo Asuncion (1:38.33).

Completing the top 10 finishers in the lap backed by party-list group LPGMA, Liquigaz, GeoEstate Beacon, Burlington, Energizer and Schick were Renato Sembrano of GeoEstate (1:57.53) and Santi Barnachea of Liquigaz (1:57.53).

Mumford grabbed the overall lead with a total time of nine hours, two minutes and 44.53 seconds while erstwhile leaders Ryan Anderson of Kelly Benefits (3:38.11) and James Perry of EMG (4:05.50) slipped down to eighth and ninth, respectively.

David Veilleux of Kelly Benefits moved up to second, Nickalk improved to third and and Barnachea made a surprise move to fourth overall. Asuncion, Oledan and Tolentino also made it into the top 10.

Chief Commissaire Renato Del Mundo marked the last 17 kilometers of the course as a Category I climb with its steep hairpin turns and harsh elevated layout.

“This one is shorter but has the steepness of Baguio,” said Del Mundo. Baguio has been classified as Hors, considered as the most difficult elevation in the sport.

More punishment will come for the 58 remaining riders in the next two days.

Stage 6 will be a 130-kilometer travel from Subic to the uplands of Morong, Bataan after which the Tour endures another challenging course from Subic to Pilar, Bataan and back to the former US naval base again with a distance of 130 kilometers in Stage 7.