Shulchenko pulls away from outclassed chasing pack

Fatigued cyclists get hosed down at the finish. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CERVANTES, Ilocos Sur—Nikita Shulchenko passed a true acid test in the MPTC Tour of Luzon on a day highlighted by a punishing climb his closest pursuers simply couldn’t scale and the Russian, who has been under siege for more than a week now, is threatening to make the final four laps his veritable victory ride.

“Yes, maybe,” Shulchenko said when asked if he felt that the crown was now just a mere formality after he widened his lead in the individual race by finishing second behind Antoine Huby in the 131.2-kilometer journey from Candon via the back-breaking Bessang Pass to here, making up Stage 10. “But I will still try to protect the yellow (jersey of leadership).”

Huby won the lap with a clocking of three hours, 30 minutes and one second, with Shulchenko wheeling in behind the Frenchman just 50 seconds later after peeling away from a bunch that had been guarding his every move since he took the yellow jersey in Stage 3.

After promising to shake up the standings on Friday, Ronnilan Quita was third, LCW’s Ibrahiem Alrefai placed fifth to remain in second overall, although now 3:44 behind from 1:56 at the start of the lap.

Shulchenko’s breakaway in the standings saw him team up with Huby on the long ascent to the finish in front of a memorial honoring Philippine and American forces who fought in the last stronghold of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War in 1945.

While it was a challenging one, Shulchenko seemed very much at ease in a King of the Mountain stage graded as a Hors category given its steep climb and sharp curves.

“Last year, I had one climb in Russia that I believe was the hardest,” said Shulchenko, when asked about Bessang Pass, though he didn’t go into much detail due to the language barrier between him and Manila-based scribes.

Huby crossed the finish line first, then fell to the ground, even as more riders endured the same scenario a few meters away, either sitting while being showered with water from firefighters or being carried into a stretcher by medics due to exhaustion, like Go for Gold’s Marvin Mandac, who would later recover after getting immediate treatment.

Third at the start of the day, Mervin Corpuz was 16th and dropped three rungs to sixth, now 9:05 adrift from just over four minutes behind.

“It’s really hard because it’s a long climb,” Shulchenko, who now has a total time of 29:34:44, said after being the one to shake up the standings. Riding 3:56 adrift is Huby, who jumped to third from sixth, while Quita remained fourth overall, but now trailing by 5:57 with the Malaysian national team’s Muhammad Syawal Mazlin running fifth, 8:36 behind.

At this point, it seems only a disaster or an incredible maneuver by one of his opponents could prevent Shulchenko from emerging as the winner of the derby on wheels after what was undoubtedly the most difficult and brutal stage that saw a climb at historic Bessang Pass.

Stage 11 will be mostly a sprint race going from Candon to San Juan, La Union, on Sunday; Stage 12 is going to start from Agoo, La Union, and ends with a climb to Mangatarem, Pangasinan’s Daang Kalikasan.

Stage 13 will be an individual time trial in Lingayen before the Tour wraps up with another challenging climb towards Baguio via Kennon Road.

“We’ve trained in Baguio many times,” said the 26-year-old Shulchenko, who ruled the only other ITT a few days back. INQ