CLARK — Ean Cajucom topped Stage 4 in another bunch sprint finish on Sunday, earning the distinction as the first back-to-back lap winner of the MPTC Tour of Luzon.
Cajucom beat Mervin Corpuz and Aidan James Mendoza in a frantic sprint to the line. They finished in three hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds in the 168.76-kilometer ride from Agoo, La Union.
"Nasa plano talaga ng team na kunin ang stage win ngayon. Maganda ang panahon at maganda din ang plano ng team,’’ said Cajucom, who also ruled the largely flat third stage from Vigan City to San Juan, La Union the day before.
The sprint specialist of Victoria Sports Cycling Team was part of a huge wave of riders in the second group that featured overall leader Joo Dae Yeong before Cajucom and his chase pack closed the gap three kilometers to the finish.
Joo, the yellow jersey holder since winning the opening stage in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, nestled comfortably in the peloton for most of the smooth route that took them through the towns and cities of Pangasinan and Tarlac before sprinting home to this former US military base.
Korean untouched in yellow jersey
There was hardly any movement in the overall individual general classification standings as Joo, a two-time South Korea national champion from Gapyeong Cycling Team, holds a four-minute and 30-second advantage over Ronald Oranza in the eight-stage race presented by Duckworld PH and Cignal.
Mendoza remains at third, 4:36 behind, Dominic Perez of Exodus Army Cycling Team at fourth (4:43), Mervin Corpuz of MPT Drivehub at fifth (4:44), George Oconer of Standard Insurance Philippines at sixth (4:46) and Rustom Lim of MPT Drivehub at seventh (4:54).
Jan Paul Morales of Standard Insurance Philippines swung back into contention after he crashed near the finish in Stage 1 and lay at eighth (5:21) followed by Malaysian Mohammad Faiz Fakhri Omar (5:27) and Junreck Carcueva (5:28).
The individual general classification champion will earn P500,000 while the team champion brings home P1 million. The overall individual champion will be determined in the Stage 8 in Baguio City.
The 22-year-old pride of Marikina City is also blessed by having national champion Marcelo Felipe, Nichol Pareja, Daniel Carino and Rush Camingao as teammates.
Stage 5 is mostly flat from Mimosa Drive here going to New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac before turning back home—a 160.6km out-and-back route marked by hilly terrain.
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