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Joey Villar - Philstar.com
April 24, 2025 | 6:11pm
Joo Dae Young of South Korea raises his arms in victory.
Tour of Luzon
PAOAY, Ilocos Norte — It will be a long, long race for Filipino cyclists.
This became apparent when South Korean Joo Dae Young of Gapyeong Cycling Team flexed his muscle early when he dominated relatively flat but long 190.2-kilometer Stage 1 of the MPTC Tour of Luzon: Great Revival that started and ended in this quiet but scenic town near the ages old World Heritage Site — the San Agustin or Paoay Church.
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 former left the latter in the final 30km stretch to take the opening stage by storm.
When Joo reached the finish line, he raised his two hands in triumph and was met by an adoring crowd who waited for hours to witness who will take the first stage of this 1,074km, eight-stage summer cycling spectacle, which officially ushered in this fabled race’s much-awaited revival.
“My plan is I want a solo finish in this race,” said a jubilant Joo, who clocked four hours, 13 minutes and two seconds.
It was a dominating effort for Joo, who finished more than four and a half minutes 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 and. To make things worse, Morales crashed 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 for Morales, he took two of the three intermediate sprints in the race.
What made it more impressive was the fact that Joo was a picture of calm compared to the Filipinos like Oranza, a former Ronda champion himself who had cramps on both his legs after the finish, and Morales, who sustained bruises.
“Yes,” said Joo, who was drinking his Coke Zero 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 2 Team Time Trial.
