Russian rider keeps yellow jersey after teammate’s stage victory
BAYOMBONG, NUEVA VIZCAYA—LCW UAE Cycle reasserted its dominance in the Tour of Luzon on Saturday, with Russian rider Nikita Shulchenko retaining the yellow jersey and compatriot Ivan Anisimov capturing Stage 4 that ended before a big crowd here.
Shulchenko remained the overall leader with no significant changes in the individual general classification standings after being part of a bunch finish composed of Anisimov and 31 other riders in front of this city’s provincial capitol.
He now has a four-day aggregate time of 10 hours, 59 minutes and 19 seconds.
With a 49-second lead over teammate and Stage 1 victor Ibrahiem Alrefai after the climb-themed stage that started in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, Shulchenko is glad the team continues to hold the symbolic jersey.
“The whole team is really working on this,” said Shulchenko, who also has a 2:04 lead over third-running Dave Montemayor, the top Filipino threat at this point of summer’s cycling spectacle following his Stage 3 win.
Other local bets who are looking to catch up with a big move or by being meticulous over the next 10 races are Excellent Noodles’ Sumiso Basalan (+2:09) and fan favorite Mervin Corpuz (+2:15) of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines.
Two foreign riders representing local teams are in the top 10, with 7-Eleven’s Frenchman Antoine Ruby in sixth (+2:16) and Excellent Noodles’ British cyclist Tyler Hannay (+2:51).
Off to Cagayan
Sunday’s Stage 5 will be a 126.7-kilometer journey from Santiago City, Isabela, to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, with only one King of the Mountain stretch from Caranglan to Sta. Maria.
Filipino riders made another attempt to narrow the gap on the LCW duo, with 7-Eleven’s Ronnilan Quita and MPT DriveHub’s Rustom Lim forming a lead pack alongside defending champion Joo Dae-yeong, who had two solo breakaways during the 159km stage.
But the peloton that included Shulchenko, Anisimov and Alrefai eventually caught up during the descent from Kiyang Climb to set up the finish.
Anisimov made his move in the final 500 meters and crossed the line first at 3:59:41, followed by Seoul Cycling Team’s Jung Hoon-lee and Quita.
The 23-year-old from Moscow won it despite crashing during the last 25km due to a broken shifter, eventually catching up with the bunch.
