PAOAY, Ilocos Norte , Philippines — A few years ago in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Ryan Tugawin was plowing fields to earn a living.
Then cycling opened a lot of doors for him.
From planting rice, the 36-year-old Tugawin is now winning races – including Stage 8 of the MPTC Tour of Luzon, where he outfoxed younger rivals to claim victory yesterday before a roaring crowd beside the iconic Paoay Church.
“I’m happy and blessed to be given this opportunity to race and win a stage,” said the Excellent Noodles captain after leading a team prayer at their tent near the finish line.
Tugawin, one of the oldest riders in the 14-stage race, proved age wasn’t an issue. He clocked 3 hours, 16 minutes, and 58 seconds to top the relatively flat 148.4-kilometer stage from Pagudpud to Paoay.
He outsprinted four rivals in the final dash to the line: Malaysian national team’s Ariff Danial Noor Roseidi and Go for Gold’s Marvin Mandac, who finished second and third with the same time. CCN’s Charles Olsen Ferrer and Metro Pacific Tollways Drive Hub’s Nash Lim were also in the lead group.
It was Tugawin’s third career stage win. He previously won Stage 4 of the five-stage Tour of Friendship in Thailand two years ago, and Stage 8 of the 10th anniversary race of the defunct Ronda Pilipinas six years ago – his first and, until now, sweetest victory.
Russian Nikita Shulchenko of LCW UAE remained in firm control of the general classification. He stayed with the 57-man peloton that finished eighth in the stage, 16 seconds behind the leaders.
After eight grueling stages with six to go, Shulchenko holds an aggregate time of 22:48:24. He leads Syrian teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai by 1:38 and Mervin Corpuz of 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines by 4:15.
Shulchenko will wear the yellow jersey for a sixth straight stage when the Tour resumes today with Stage 9 – a 142.89-km flat route from Laoag to Candon, Ilocos Sur. The field is now down to 75 riders, from 77 at the start of the stage.
Another Excellent Noodles rider, Briton Tyler Douglas Hannay, finished sixth alongside D’Reyna Orion Cement’s Erickson delos Santos, three seconds behind the lead group. The result moved Hannay from fifth to fourth overall, 4:34 off the lead.
Rounding out the top 10 in the general classification: Nash Lim of MPTD (22:53:16), Ronilan Quita of 7-Eleven (22:53:20), Antoine Huby (22:53:24), Rustom Lim of MPTD (22:55:06), Seoul’s Jung Woo Hoo (22:55:10), and Muhammad Raihan Maulidan of Indonesian club team Ponti Wijaya (22:55:17).
The 14-stage MPTC Tour of Luzon is presented by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the Manny V. Pangilinan Group of Companies, and the Philippine Sports Commission.