By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
CANDON City, Ilocos Sur – Danish rider Daniel Guld attacked the final 200 meters of uphill stretch with the panache of a champion on his way to ruling Stage 9 of the MPTC Tour of Luzon 2026 that started in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte and ended in front of the Candon City Arena here on Friday, May 8.
The 25-year-old rider from the CCN Factory Racing Team made up for a missed turn in the final kilometer, banking on his climbing skills in the 100 meters to overtake Pangasinan’s Benidict Soriano and Daniel Jay Fariñas and secure his first stage win in three years.
Guld timed 3 hours, 13 minutes and 2 seconds, with Soriano and Fariñas registering the same time to finish second and third place, respectively.
“It was really hot. It was so steep in the end, but I like short climbs like this, so I gave it a good punch in the end and I dropped the other guys,” said Guld, who last won a lap in Japan.
“I’m just glad I caught them (Soriano and Fariñas) in the end. It’s probably the biggest stage win of my career,” he added.
7-Eleven’s Ronnilan Quita, who was part of the seven-rider breakaway that stayed out front in the final 50 kilometers, came close to winning the stage if not for that missed turn along with Guld and three others.
“Di ko napansin. Pero andun na eh. Masakit, pero okay lang. May iba pa namang stage,” said Quita, who at one point had trimmed his overall deficit to just around seven seconds behind general classification leader Nikita Shulchenko of LCW UAE late in the race.
Shulchenko, who was part of the large chase group that slashed a four-minute deficit in the last 30 kilometers around Narvacan, checked in 23 seconds behind to still retain the yellow jersey with a cumulative time of 26:01:59.
LCW UAE teammate Yousef Ibraheim Alrefai still trails by 1:38 minutes at second, while 7-Eleven’s Mervin Corpuz is at third with 4:15 off the pace.
Quita, meanwhile, jumped from sixth to fourth and cut his gap to just 4:19.
In the team race, Go for Gold still kept the overall lead with 103:15:35 with Standard Insurance and 7-Eleven at 1:40 and 3:04 minutes behind.
Saturday’s Stage 10 from Candon City to Cervantes is expected to tear the general classification apart as it features a closing ascent along Bessang Pass in Cervantes — a Hors Categorie climb stretching roughly 30 kilometers with an average gradient of 17 percent.
