BAGUIO CITY — Overcoming a flat tire and a bunch of Filipino cyclists looking to dislodge him from the lead, South Korean Joo Dae Yeong of Gapyeong Cycling Team maintained his composure and completed his conquest of the Tour of Luzon, which ended at the Camp John Hay in the country’s Summer Capital on Thursday.
Joo finished 22nd in the eighth and final stage of the race, a grueling climb to Baguio City from Lingayen in Pangasinan, but his lap time of 4:21:31 was just enough to keep the yellow jersey that he held since his opening leg triumph on April 24.
Joo logged 22 hours, 21 minutes and eight seconds to claim the individual title of the 1,074.90-kilometer race which carries tagline “The Great Revival” for holding its first tournament since 2002.
Needing to erase the Korean’s lead of two minutes and 10 seconds in the final day, Jan Paul Morales of Standard Insurance Philippines fell six seconds short of stealing the crown as he logged 22:21:14 in the eight-stage race.
Jonel Carcueva of MPT Drivehub placed third with a clocking of 22:22:00.
The 28-year-old Joo pocketed the P1 million prize while Morales and Carcueva went home with the P500,000 and P350,000 purse, respectively.
“I just take [it] one day [at a time]. I don’t [know that I’ll win], I just race till the finish. Every time, [I just] keep going in every race,” said Joo, who spoke little English.
On Thursday, Joo appeared to have lost his overall lead when he stopped to replace his bike due to a flat tire in Lingayen.
Mervin Corpuz of MPT Drivehub, who had a shot at the title, took advantage and pulled away from the pack. He, however, slowed down when he reached Kennon Road and lagged behind due to muscle cramps.
Joo, using a spare bike, battled back into the race and eventually made enough time to win the race.
It was a tremendous effort for Joo whose team was down to just two cyclists including him in the eighth and final stage with his other teammates crashing out of the race in the previous stages either due to injuries or violations.
“Every day I’m losing two or one teammate but [I have] to keep trying again because the time keeps going and it doesn’t come back. Now, [I just show my] passion,” said Joo, who cried and hugged his teammates after the 177.54-km Stage 8 race which was topped by the “Eagle of the Mountain” winner Joshua Pascual of Excellent Noodles (4:16:14).
Morales finished second to Pascual at 4:18:34 and Carcueva of MPT Drivehub placed third at 4:18:51.
Meanwhile, MPT Drivehub bagged the team general classification championship with a combined time of 88:22:02, overtaking the Standard Insurance Philippines who led through the first seven stages.
Standard Insurance (88:22:13) settled for second as it finished 11 seconds behind MPT Drivehub while Go for Gold Philippines (88:25:05) captured third place.