Dae Yeong Joo of Korea Cycling Team
BAGUIO CITY—Craving for a major triumph, Joo Dae-yeong swept into cycling immortality in the most dramatic way by conquering his unrelenting rivals in a punishing final stage of the MPTC Tour of Luzon he later said he doesn’t want a part of again.
“No more Baguio [stages]for me,” Joo, after being emotional while in an embrace with a teammate, said after prevailing by just six seconds over a determined Jan Paul Morales to become just the ninth foreign individual champion of the country’s summer spectacle since 1995.
Joo had worn the yellow jersey of leadership starting the second stage, and as if the punishment in protecting that under sweltering heat wasn’t enough, the South Korean ace of the Gapyeong Cycling Team busted a tire with 50 kilometers left to make fending off Morales and the others even harder.
He had also lost five of seven teammates after crashes in previous laps, so yes, he had every reason to cry his heart out after clocking 22 hours, 21 minutes and eight seconds for a total of 1,074.9 km spread over eight laps in the same number of days.
“There were many strong riders, and I lost most of my teammates,” said Joo at the finish in cool Camp John Hay. “I just took it one day at a time and kept going. I am happy to get this done.”
Joo crossed the line in this mountain resort long after stage winner Joshua Pascual of Excellent Noodles, who clocked four hours, 16 minutes and 14 seconds at the end of the 172-km road trip from Lingayen, Pangasinan.
Morales of Standard Insurance Philippines checked in second, 2:20 behind, after a steep, swerving uphill finish in the last 300 meters with Jonel Carcueva of MPT Drivehub arriving third, 2:37 back.
Falling just short
Morales, a three-time Tour champion who suffered a crash in the opening stage in Paoay, swung back in contention and nearly stripped Joo of the lead in a theatrical manner.
“Too bad. I could have won it. Still, I’m happy with what I’ve achieved,” said Morales in Filipino after checking in second in the slimmest recorded margin of the event.
Joo won P1 million, Morales pocketed the P500,000 runner-up’s prize in the slimmest of margins in Tour history while his team finished second in the overall team general classification behind MPT Drivehub.
“I told myself that I will retire once I become the champion. It wasn’t meant to be, so I’ll give it a try one more time next year,” said Morales.
Overall, Carcueva landed third, 52 seconds behind Joo; Nichol Pareja of Victoria Sports Cycling Team ended up fourth, 54 back; Jeremy Lizardo of Standard Insurance fifth (2:32 behind); and Rench Michael Bondon of 7Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines sixth (3:07).
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James Paul Ryan Escumbien (3:34) and Jerico Jay Lucero (3:42) of Go For Gold Cycling Team wound up seventh and eighth while Ronald Oranza of Standard Insurance finished ninth (3:45) and Rustom Lim of MPT Drivehub 10th (3:57).
