PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte — Nikita Sulchenko tightened his hold of the yellow jersey after ruling the individual time trial at the MPTC Tour of Luzon Stage 7 on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Russian cyclist of the LCW UAE Cycle Team clocked 30:06 in covering the 22.9-kilometer route.
The time trial started from the Pagudpud Town Hall with the turn entering the Maharlika Highway and then back.
“I just did my best. It’s an amazing finish. I really like this Tour,” said Sulchenko.
“It has great roads, great communicate (great communication from the organizers), great support. It’s very nice. Thanks [to] the fans. It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”
Sulchenko’s teammate and Stage 1 winner Yousef Ibrahiem Alrefai finished second with a time of 30:55 while Stage 7 conqueror Min Kyeong Ho ranked third with 31:32.
Nash Joshua Lim of the MPT Drivehub placed fourth and emerged as the top local bet in Stage 7 with a time of 31:46.
Akmal Hakim Zakaria rounded out the top five after finishing route in 32 minutes.
Taking the yellow jersey by consistently making the top 3 to 5 in the first six stages and finally winning one in Stage 7, Sulchenko totaled 19:31:20 halfway through the 14-stage race.
Sulchenko managed a 01:38 lead against his closest pursuer in Alrefai, who clocked an aggregate of 19:32:58 in the individual general classification.
“It’s beautiful. It’s amazing that we’re the top two cyclists in the general classification halfway through,” said Sulchenko.
Melvin Corpuz came through as the top Filipino cyclist through seven stages with a total of 19:35:35 — 4:15 behind Sulchenko.
Sulchenko believes that he can protect the yellow jersey in the final half of the Tour.
“Yes, I do. I can lead this whole stage and finish on top.”
The Tour takes a break on Wednesday before resuming with Stage 8 featuring a 148.4-km race distance from Pagudpud to Paoay on Thursday.
Sulchenko said he will continue to bike on the rest day.
“I will continue to bike. No rest.” NIEL VICTOR MASOY
