5 days ago
5
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Joey Villar - The Philippine Star
April 25, 2025 | 12:00am
oo Dae Young of South Korea’s Gapyeong Cycling Team raises his hands in a solo breakaway finish in the Paoay-to-Paoay Stage One of the MPTC Tour of Luzon.
Jesse Bustos
PAOAY, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — It will be a long, long race for Filipino cyclists.
It became apparent when South Korean Joo Dae Young of Gapyeong Cycling Team flexed his muscles early and dominated the relatively flat but long 190.2-kilometer Stage One of the MPTC Tour of Luzon: Great Revival that started and ended in a heritage site in this quiet but scenic town.
The stocky, 29-year-old two-time Korean national champion was all business from the start when he and Standard Insurance’s Jan Paul Morales broke away early before the foreign rider left the home bet in the final 30km stretch to take the opening stage by storm.
Reaching the finish line by his lonesome, Joo raised his two hands in triumph, cheered on by an adoring crowd who waited for hours to witness who would take the kickoff of this 1,074km, eight-stage summer cycling spectacle.
“I want a solo finish in this race,” said a jubilant Joo of his game plan which he was able to execute.
It was a dominating effort for Joo, who clocked four hours, 13 minutes and two seconds and finished more than four minutes and a half ahead of the chase pack that included Standard Insurance team captain Ronald Oranza and Go for Gold’s Aidan James Mendoza, who ended up second and third in 4:17:24 and 4:17:29, respectively.
The 39-year-old Morales, who was with Joo most of the stage, faded amid Joo’s show of force and the scorching heat. Making it worse for Morales was his crash entering the final 400-meter stretch.
“I was bumped,” said a dazed Morales, who was relegated to the last place of their group due to the crash along with Exodus Army’s Wenz Desabelle and Genovibo Gocotano III and Go for Gold’s Jaypee Olarte.
But if there’s any consolation, Morales took two of the three intermediate sprints in the race.
What made it more impressive for Joo was him being a picture of calmness, compared to the Filipinos like Oranza, a former Ronda champion himself who suffered cramps on both legs after the finish, and Morales, who sustained bruises.
“Yes,” said Joo, who was drinking soda entering their hotel at the Plaza del Norte in Laoag, when asked if he wanted to become champion here.
Heat wasn’t a problem too for Joo.
“Two weeks ago in Korea, we had heat training every day. It was very hot in the first 10km, but after that, I just put ice and drank cold water,” he said.
Making the locals’ chances dimmer was Oranza’s gloomy prognosis.
“He’s really strong because we have competed against him in the Asian Games and Asian Championships. He can carry that lead until the end,” said the Villasis, Pangasinan native.
From the original 119 riders, the field was reduced to 110 entering the 68.5km Paoay-to-Vigan Stage Two – a short Team Time Trial race.
