Shulchenko rules ITT with ease, pads overall lead
PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte—Dave Montemayor had little problems summing up his troubles on Tuesday.
“I was up against a lot,” the Go For Gold Philippines cyclist said. “The road was rocky, the wind was strong. It was tough for me.”
He forgot to specifically mention a Russian rider who had everyone eating his dust.
Nikita Shulchenko showed what he is really made of in the first individual time trial on Tuesday and padded his overall lead in the MPTC Tour of Luzon by ruling the seventh stage with plenty to spare.
The mainstay of the LCW UAE Cycle squad, Shulchenko dominated the 23-kilometer race-against-the-clock route from the plaza of this coastal town and back in 30 minutes and six seconds, finishing 49 seconds clear of teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai, who stayed in second but saw his deficit balloon to 1:38.
“I do believe that I can keep my lead and stay on top,” said Shulchenko, the five-day leader who now has a total time of 19 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds as those left standing get a much-needed breather on Wednesday before taking on the back-breaking laps further up north in the second half of the 14-stage journey.
Mervin Corpuz, a day after a sixth-lap heartbreak where he was gobbled up by the peloton after being part of a nine-man lead pack that had a nine-minute lead, is the best-placed local bet, running third, 4:15 behind.
Top 10
Montemayor, previously third in the general classification standings, fell to 11th, now six minutes behind Shulchenko and his yellow jersey.
“It was really, really tough,” Montemayor said. “I tried to push myself to give a good showing but I just couldn’t avoid losing precious time.”
He wasn’t the only one.
Other Filipino riders who lost time were Montemayor’s teammates Rench Michael Bondoc (from ninth to 12th with a gap of 6:10) and Jericho Lucero (from eighth to 17th and 7:04 adrift).
It wasn’t just Corpuz who climbed the ladder, as fellow 7-Eleven rider Ronnilan Quita jumped to fourth, but was 4:46 behind Shulchenko, while the MPT Drive Hub’s Nash Lim and Joshua Lim are seventh and eighth, 4:58 and 5:35 behind, respectively.
The rest of the top 10 are foreigners, including two from local teams in Excellent Noodles’ Tyler Hannay (fifth, 4:49 behind) and 7-Eleven’s Antoine Huby (still sixth and 4:50 adrift). Seoul Cycling Team’s Jung Woo-ho (+5:36) is ninth and Malaysian national team’s Muhammad Raihan Maulidan (+5:43) is 10th.
The chasing pack would need to make up ground on Shulchenko, with the second and last ITT scheduled on the penultimate day of action in Lingayen, on a shorter distance of just 20 km.
