Korean champ Joo raises his arms in triumph. MPTC photo
Korean bet Joo rules opening stage of Tour of Luzon
PAOAY, Ilocos Norte— The honor of winning the opening stage of the 2025 MPTC Tour of Luzon goes to Joo Dae Young of South Korea.
Looking fit as a fiddle, Joo battled scorching heat and the rest of the equally-talented competitors for a solo breakaway finish here Thursday.
The 29-year-old rider from Gapyeong Cycling Team completed the gruelling 190.70-kilometer race in four hours, 12 minutes, and 45 seconds as he crossed the finish line in front of the 300-year-old Paoay Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site and National Cultural Treasure.
“I really wanted the solo finish, which I achieved today. That was really the plan,” said Joo after sprinting ahead of Jan Paul Morales in their two-man breakaway effort in Bacarra town, some 30 kilometers from the finish.
“I don’t think so, but I will keep attacking and trying,” added Joo, when asked about his chances of winning the title and the top prize of P500,00 put up by DuckWorld PH and Cignal.
Ronald Oranza of Standard Insurance Philippines finished second in the stage, four minutes and 32 seconds behind the lap winner.
And Aidan James Mendoza of Go For Gold Cycling Team checked in third, four minutes and 40 seconds back.
Joo was actually never seriously threatened in claiming the red jersey, the overall individual general classification symbol of leadership, which he will wear in Friday’s team time trial Stage 2 race going to Vigan City.
“I also planned to take the sprints points and keep on getting them (in succeeding laps),’’ said Joo after winning the three sprint mini-races spread throughout the course.
The opening lap of the eight-stage race brought the 119 riders from 17 teams to Laoag City and the towns of Vintar and Pasuquin before making a U-turn in Pagudpud coming home.
Morales joined Joo in cutting loose from the peloton halfway through the route and maintained the pace before the Korean made his move and dropped the seasoned rider and multiple race champion from Marikina City.
To make matters worse, Morales crashed approximately 400m meters from the line and suffered cuts and bruises in his left shin and shoulder.
“We competed against him (Joo) many times before in international races. He’s a strong rider as well as the other riders in their team,’’ said Oranza in leading Standard Insurance atop the overall team battle.
The return of the nation’s historic cycling marathon is organized in partnership with Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Go21, Dongfeng, Victory Liner, DOOH, PSSLAI, Unilab, Huawei, Toyota and supported by Microtel by Wyndham, Gatorade, Drivehub and Homestretch.
The third stage is a 130.33km ride to San Juan, La Union followed by Stage 4 from Agoo to Clark (162.97), the 166.65km Clark-Clark race via New Clark City in Stage 5 and the Clark-Lingayen 168.19km Stage 6.
Stage 7 is a 15.14km individual time trial from Labrador, Pangasinan to Lingayen while Stage 8 is the queen stage covering 172.53kms from Lingayen to the Scout Hill finish inside Camp John Hay in Baguio City where the champion will be determined.
The individual general classification champion will earn P500,000 while the team champion brings home P1 million in the race also presented by Cignal and backed by Pilipinas Live, Meralco, Maynilad, Metro Pacific Health, Megaworld, Landco, PLDT and Smart.
The race is also endorsed by the POC, Philippine Sports Commission, Games and Amusements Board, BCDA and MVP Sports Foundation.
