Oh no, not again
PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte—The longest stage of the MPTC Tour of Luzon saw Mervin Corpuz launch a daring bid to snatch the yellow jersey from Russian rider Nikita Shulchenko.
His early attack placed him in a nine-man lead group that at one point opened a 10-minute advantage over Shulchenko and the main peloton.
But it still proved insufficient, leaving Corpuz to endure a repeat of last year’s final-stage woes.
Min Kyeong-ho of Seoul Cycling Team eventually ruled the grueling 230-kilometer Stage 6 in five hours, 13 minutes and 12 seconds after breaking away solo from the lead pack during the climb, leaving Sta. Praxedes, Cagayan, just before the arch entering this province.
“Bumanat ‘yung Koreano sa KOM (the Korean struck hard at the KOM),” Corpuz said, referring to the category four King of the Mountain ascent, as he recounted the decisive moment to fellow Filipino riders while cooling down beneath a tree outside a local carinderia.
Deficit grows
The 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines standout later recalled being caught in the final eight kilometers by Shulchenko and the peloton. The overall leader eventually crossed the line in 16th place, just behind his closest pursuer and LCW UAE Cycle teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai.
Corpuz finished 31st, 1:26 behind Min and remained fifth overall—now trailing Shulchenko by two minutes and 17 seconds after conceding two more seconds.
Shulchenko retained the yellow jersey after compiling a six-day aggregate time of 19:01:14 near the halfway point of this year’s cycling spectacle.
“It’s my first time in a long-distance stage,” said Shulchenko. “But I made sure I would stay within my rivals [for the general classification].”
He still leads Alrefai by 49 seconds in the overall standings, while extending his advantage over third-running Dave Montemayor of Go for Gold Philippines to 2:13. 7-Eleven’s French rider Antoine Huby sits fourth at 2:16, followed by Corpuz.
The derby on wheels remains in Pagudpud, with Tuesday marking the first of two individual time trials—stages that could determine whether Shulchenko can sustain his lead or if riders like Corpuz can begin to chip away at the deficit.
Corpuz placed second in last year’s lone time trial of the Tour, dubbed the “great revival.” That performance came in the sixth of eight stages and trimmed Daeyeong Joo’s overall lead from 4:30 to 1:56.
The race was ultimately decided on a punishing climb to Baguio via Kennon Road. Corpuz surged past Joo to take the lead but faltered on the brutal ascent, struggling in the closing kilometers to finish 38th overall. Joo went on to win the title by just six seconds over veteran Jan Paul Morales.
This year, Corpuz has come close to stage victories in Stages 3 and 4, only to be boxed out during back-to-back bunch finishes in Palayan and Bayombong.
“If we don’t make mistakes, we won’t learn,” Corpuz said before the Tour began, sounding like a person who needed to remind himself of what he lost last year.
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