RUSSIAN CORONATION?

INGAYEN, Pangasinan — It’s mission accomplished for Korean Kyeong Ho Min of Seoul Cycling Team after topping Stage 13 of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) Tour of Luzon 2026 on Tuesday, which started and ended at the Pangasinan Baywalk here.  

However, it was the stage’s second-place finisher and yellow jersey holder, Nikita Shulchenko, who gained the most after a favorable time to pad his lead in the individual general classification.

The Russian rider of LCW UAE added over a minute to his gap over his closest pursuer Antoine Huby of 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines, for the yellow heading into the demanding final trek to Baguio on Wednesday. 

Despite the challenge of strong headwinds and crosswinds as well as extreme temperatures under the blazing mid-morning sun, Shulchenko crossed the finish line just 22 seconds behind Min.

His clocking in the 20-kilometer circuit race earned him an accumulated time of 36:42:22 in the individual general classification for a three-minute, 50-second gap over Huby, who has won the first two climbing stages in Bessang Pass in Ilocos Sur and Stage 12’s ascent to Daang Kalikasan in Mangatarem, Pangasinan.

“Yeah, it’s nice for me, it’s a great gap,” the 26-year-old Shulchenko said.

But Shulchenko, who won the ITT Stage 7 in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, admitted that riding with the wind blowing in the opposite direction of his ride and the sandy road bothered him.

“Today is so windy. In the morning, it wasn’t but it got really windy when we started. And it was a hard race because it was very hot and the road (conditions) were not good. But I did my best,” said Shulchenko, who was the last rider to roll out of the 71 starters.

Barring any unfortunate mishap, Shulchenko could be headed into a victory lap at the John Hay Hotels to conclude the punishing 177.8-km race from Lingayen uphill to the cool mountain top city of Baguio.

“It’s a very hard climb but I like long climbs,” he said.

“I know I can still protect the yellow. I will try to win and there’s no time to relax,” added Shulchenko, who finished behind Huby in both climbing stages.

Shulchenko’s teammate Yousef Ibrahiem Alrefai remained in third in the individual GC, five minutes and 37 seconds back.

Meanwhile, Min got his redemption with a clocking of 25 minutes and 39 seconds for his second stage win.

The Seoul Cycling Team rider, who started 43rd in the race against time race, redeemed himself from a disappointing third-place finish in Stage 7.  

“In stage 7, I was just a little bit tired. A day before Stage 7, I did a very long breakaway,” said Min, who couldn’t find his legs in the first ITT after winning the longest stage in the bikefest that ran from Tuguegarao, Cagayan to Pagudpud with a 228.8-km distance.

“But this time, in the morning, I felt fresher and felt so good. So, I got a lot of confidence and a lot of determination. I had full gas on this stage and yeah, a great stage win,” added Min, who is prepping for the Nagoya Asian Games in September.

Joseph Javiniar of Excellent Noodles finished third, 30 seconds behind Min. Nash Lim of MPTC Drive Hub was 54 seconds back while 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines was a minute away in fifth spot.

On the other hand, 7-Eleven, with its 144:25:51 aggregate time, boosted its bid to capture the team general classification.

The squad extended its lead over Go for Gold by five minutes.

Standard Insurance Philippines was in third by 17 minutes and 35 seconds back.