CLARK, Pampanga. — Riders battling it out in the fourth leg had seen nothing short of a cinematic movie—from a funeral in Sison, Pangasinan, a campaign sortie in Moncada, Tarlac, and what appeared initially as a typical ending at the finish line.
What they didn’t expect to see was Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team rising star Ean Cajucom dazzling anew, winning Stage 4 in another mass sprint finish in the MPTC Tour of Luzon that began at the humungous Eagle of the North statue in Agoo, La Union and wound up at the posh Filinvest Mimosa Sunday here.
Cajucom, 22, tapped his left forearm, mimicking the “ice in his veins” celebration of Brooklyn Nets star D’Angelo Russell in the NBA, when he crossed the end zone amid the deafening cheers from the crowd who bucked the 40-degree heat index.
The Fortune, Marikina City pride, who also ruled Stage 3 Saturday in San Juan, La Union, clocked three hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds along with 100 fellow cyclists who checked in with identical times in the 163.76-km race.
MPT Drivehub’s Mervin Corpuz and Aidan James Mendoza of Go For Gold finished second and third, respectively, in the fourth stage of the eight-lap “The Great Revival”—the county’s storied summer cycling spectacle making its return—presented by DuckWorld PH and Cignal.
“Talagang nasa plano pa rin ng team na kunin iyong stage win ngayon. Salamat at maganda iyong panahon at maganda rin iyong naging plano ng team,” Cajucom said. “Salamat din sa mga ka-group ko na talagang 100 percent na nag-trabaho para sa stage na ito.
“Lalo na sa mga staff na tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aalaga sa amin, hindi kami pinapabayaan,” he added.
Despite Cajucom’s second straight win, Dae Yeong Joo of South Korea’s Gapyeong Cycling Team kept the yellow jersey with a four-minute and 30-second lead over Standard Insurance Philippines’ Ronald Oranza.
Mendoza stayed in at third, trailing by 4:36, Dominic Perez of Exodus Army Cycling Team at fourth (4:43), and Mervin Corpuz of MPT Drivehub at No. 5 (4:44).
Cruising through the mostly flat roads of La Union, Pangasinan, and Tarlac towns and cities, Joo stayed with the peloton for most of the race backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Games and Amusements Board, BCDA and MVP Sports Foundation.
The individual general classification champion will bag P500,000 while the team winner will pocket a cool P1 million in the race backed by Pilipinas Live, Meralco, Maynilad, Metro Pacific Health, Megaworld, Landco, PLDT and Smart.
When all the dust settled, Go For Gold sports director Ednalyn Hualda claimed Cajucom “cut the lane” of Mendoza near the end.
“Cutting lane. Dapat kasi, sa regulations is dapat kapag pa-finish ka na straight lane ka lang. Hindi ka puwedeng pumatong. Muntik pang magkaroon ng semplangan kanina kasi kung nakita ninyo sa video, umangat pa iyong gulong,” Hualda said, adding the team will file a protest whether the results will be overturned or not. “Umangat iyong gulong so with that, dapat na-desisyunan iyon ng tama.”
A sprint specialist, Cajucom admitted he had guarded optimism on the Stage 5 152.92-km Clark to Clark route that will feature hilly terrains where climbers are expected to dominate.
But Cajucom’s life has experienced lots of surprises, including his decision to ditch his dream of becoming an astronaut.
“Gagawin ulit namin kung ano iyong makakaya namin at lagi namang makakaasa na ibibigay namin iyong 100 percent para sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa amin,” he said.
“Iyon nga po, malaking bagay po iyon dahil kung natuloy po ako sa pagiging astronaut, hindi po siguro ako nanalo ngayon.”
Cajucom might not have donned an astronaut’s suit but a cycling uniform is fast proving to make a big difference.
