PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte — Through the first half of the 14-stage MPTC Tour of Luzon (TOL), Mervin Corpuz emerged as the top local bet to win the extremely challenging race covering a total of 1,825.10 kilometers.
The 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines cyclist clocked an aggregate of 19:35:35, but his time is still far behind — 4:15, to be exact — the Russian yellow jersey bearer Nikita Sulchenko of LCW UAE Cycle who posted 19:31:20.
Sulchenko’s Syrian teammate Yousef Ibrahiem Alrefai runs second with 19:32:58 — 1:38 behind the Russian.
A popular figure in Philippine cycling, Corpuz acknowledged the huge gap he has to erase to win the summer bikefest but vows to do his best to give himself a shot at the gold.
“For me, they already have a bit of an advantage. It will be difficult to take the yellow jersey, but I will still do my best in the race,” said Corpuz in Filipino during the midstage presscon of the Tour on Wednesday at Villa Manuela beachfront in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
Action resumes on Thursday with Stage 8 from Pagudpud to Paoay covering 157.40 km.
The 28-year-old Corpuz, who once led a 10-man lead group in Stage 6 with a 10-minute gap from the peloton but faltered in the final stretch, added:
“Whatever the result may be, I just hope that all of us participants can finish the race safely and properly.
“As for me, I just hope to be given good condition and a bit of luck. Nothing is impossible — I might still be able to get the yellow jersey.”
Corpuz’s teammate Ronnilan Quita runs fourth with 19:36:6 while British Tyler Hannay rounds out the top five cyclist with 19:36:9.
The 26-year-old Sulchenko said that LCW is out to preserve his yellow jersey and the potential 1-2 finish between him and teammate.
“It’s going to be the work for our team to protect the first and second places this year,” said Sulchenko, who topped the Stage 7 individual time trial on Tuesday by clocking 30:06.
Meanwhile, the MPT Drivehub hopes to give the leaders a run for their money in the final half of the 14-stage race.
Coached by legendary Filipino cyclist Mark Galedo, the MPT Drivehub has two cyclists running in the top 10 — seventh placer Nash Joshua Lim and eight placer Rustom Lim (not related to each other).
Nash logged a total time of 19:36:18 while Rustom posted 19:36:55.
“Yesterday, our target was still to win the individual time trial, but when the two cyclists arrived, we ended up in fourth place. We’re still looking for a good result in these final seven stages,” said Galedo.
“We’re now focused on the individual category because we’re already too far behind in the team standings.”
Local cyclists, meanwhile, are dominating the team general classification with Go for Gold Philippines leading the pack with 77:13:38.
Standard Insurance Philippines is second with 77:14:39 while 7-Eleven is third with 77:16:26.
