By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – Russian Nikita Shulchenko of the LCW UAE Cycling Team snatched the overall classification lead from teammate Yousef Ibraheim Alrefai, while Go for Gold’s Dave Montemayor gave local fans something to cheer about with a gutsy Stage 3 victory in the MPTC Tour of Luzon on Friday, May 1.
Shulchenko, 26, who finished second to Alrefai in the opening stage, stayed with the seven-man lead group but wound up fourth, clocking the same time as Montemayor at 3 hours, 23 minutes and 9 seconds.
He now holds a cumulative time of 6:59:38 after the 140.1-kilometer relatively flat lap that rolled out from New Clark City in Tarlac and finished in front of the Palayan City Hall.
Montemayor’s teammate Marc Lago was second in the lap, while Excellent Noodles’ Sumiso Basalan finished third.
Alrefai, who crossed the line 53 seconds behind as part of a large chasing pack that included defending Korean champion Joo Dae Yeong, surrendered the overall lead and settled 49 seconds behind Shulchenko after a crash on the final climb in Laur town, about 20 kilometers from the finish.
“I was in the breakaway with Nikita and the support group car of 7-Eleven was in front. It was really hard to stop because it was too near,” said Alrefai.
The 19-year-old Syrian, who sustained minor scratches on his left arm, said he tried to chase the peloton in the final two kilometers in a bid to hold his position, but was still glad in seeing his teammate take the yellow jersey.
“Chasing after a crash was hard mentally and physically. Today wasn’t my day but I’m happy with Nikita,” said Alrefai.
Meanwhile, Montemayor held on with the lead pack throughout, climbing from sixth overall to third, trailing Shulchenko by 2:04 minutes.
“Nakachamba lang,” said Montemayor, a native of Meycauayan, Bulacan.
Basalan was fourth with 7:01:47, followed by 7-Eleven’s Mervin Corpus (7:01:53) and Antoine Huby (7:01:54), Standard Insurance’s Dave Cangayao (7:01:54), 7-Eleven’s Ronnilan Quita (7:02:04), Excellent Noodles’ Douglas Tyler Hannay (7:02:29), and Go for Gold’s Rench Michael Bondoc (7:03:33).
In the overall team race, Go for Gold remained at the helm with an aggregate time of 29:07:00, 11 seconds ahead of 7-Eleven and 45 ticks up over Excellent Noodles.
Stage 4 promises another tough race, spanning 165.8 kms that will start at the Bongabon Town Arch in Nueva Ecija and will end at the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Capitol in Bayombong.
