Min Kyeong Ho wins stage six; Shulchenko keeps overall lead

PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte — Min Kyeong Ho of Seoul Cycling bared his fangs and emerged as solo winner of Stage Six while Nikita Shulchenko of LCW UAE rode safely enough to keep his iron grip of the overall lead in the MPTC Tour of Luzon that started in Tuguegarao and ended in this beach town.

Mr. Min, a 29-year-old veteran internationalist, was part of the group that broke away and seized the lead early and managed to sustain it until that group fell apart one by one in the mountain passes of Santa Praxedes in Cagayan Valley, he broke loose and took lap honors.

“I saw them struggle in the mountain so I was solo in the last 30 km (kilometers),” said Mr. Min, who had also won stages in other races like Thailand and Malaysia and back home in South Korea where he was a former national track champion.

“It was not in my plan because I was aiming for tomorrow (Tuesday), but I got the chance and I took it,” he added.

When the South Korean checked in line in five hours, 13 minutes and 12 seconds in the 14-stage race’s longest lap covering 228.8 km, he was greeted by loud cheers from an appreciative crowd in front of the town hall and plaza.

It was a racing master class for Mr. Min, who conquered the last 76 survivors from the initial list of 89 as well as the harsh conditions including the heat and strong winds.

“It was super hot, the Philippines super hot,” he said.

LCW UAE’s Ivan Anisimov edged 14 others in scooping up second while Standard Insurance’s Ronald Oranza was third, 1:17 minutes off the pace in this race presented by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and backed by the Manuel V. Pangilinan group of companies and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Mr. Shulchenko and teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai were part of that chase group to stay at first and second with the former garnering an aggregate time of 19:01:14 and the latter 49 seconds behind.

Mr. Shulchenko will continue to wear the yellow jersey in Tuesday’s 22.9-km Stage Seven Individual Time Trial that starts and finishes in this scenic town considered as the Boracay of the North and famous for the Bangui Windmills and the Patapat road.

Still at No. 3 was Go for Gold’s Dave Montemayor (19:03:27) while 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines’ Antoine Huby jumped from No. 6 to No. 4 with a clocking of 19:03:30.

Mevin Corpuz, who came close from snatching last year’s edition, was on his way to also seizing this stage and the overall lead as he was part of the lead pack that included Mr. Min that led by as much as nine minutes midway in the lap.

But just like that fateful Baguio ascent a year ago, he also faded in this one and finished in a 15-man group that wound up 18^th in the lap to remain at fifth overall with a total time of 19:03:31.

Rounding out the top 10 were 7-Eleven’s Ronnilan Quita (19:03:36), Excellent Noodles’ Douglas Tyler Hannay (19:04:15), Go for Gold’s Jericho Jay Lucero (19:04:19) and Rench Michael Bondoc (19:04:21), and Standard Insurance’s Jexxel Ehd Azur (19:04:32).

Defending champion Joo Dae Yeong of Gapyeong made some strides after he hopped from 24^th on Sunday to 20^th, 3:46 minutes off the pace.

In the team race, Go for Gold remained unflappable with a 77:13:38, 1.01 minutes ahead of Standard Insurance and 2.8 minutes atop 7-Eleven. — Joey Villar