1 week Ago By Tempo Desk
By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA CLARK, Pampanga — It seems like Ean Cajucom’s decision to pursue cycling instead of becoming an astronaut is finally paying off. This, after the Victoria Sports Cycling Team standout sprinted his way into the last three kilometers in a mass finish to claim the 168.5-kilometer Stage 4 of the 2025 Tour of Luzon that started at the Eagle of the North Park in Agoo, La Union and ended at the Filinvest Mimosa Acacia Drive here.
It was the second straight lap win for the 22-year-old Marikina native after clocking 3 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds with 100 others. MPT Drivehub’s Mervin Corpuz and Go for Gold’s Aidan James Mendoza came in second and third, respectively. Cajucom said they just stuck to the same game plan as the last time.
“Nasa plano pa rin ng team na kunin yung stage win ngayon. Salamat at maganda ang panahon at yung grupo, nagtrabaho talaga nang 100 percent sa stage na to,” said Cajucom, whose childhood dream was to become an astronaut before discovering his love for cycling. “Kung natuloy ako sa pagiging astronaut, hindi sana ako mananalo ulit ngayon,” added Cajucom, who said he developed his talent in sprint race at 15 that sawhim several races.
Cajucom was actually part of a peloton that was trailing an eight-rider lead pack by two and a half minutes in the last 20 kilometers before making a move in the final stretch entering Clark. That peloton, included Korean Joo Dae Yeong of the Gapyeong Cycling Team, who crossed the finish line with a similar clocking for 53 rd to retain the yellow jersey reserved for the individual general classification leader. Joo posted an overall time of 10:37:12 and maintained a respectable four-and-a-half minute lead over Standard Insurance’s Ronald Oranza.
Mendoza also stayed at third and trailed by 4:36 minutes. Cajucom’s back-to-back stage wins, meanwhile, propelled him from 32 nd to 12 th overall with an accumulated time of 10:42:43 — just 5:36 minutes behind Joo. But the real test begins on Monday’s Stage 5 where the men would likely be separated from the boys as they tackle the160.
6-km hilly course that will start and finish at the Filinvest Mimosa Acacia Drive here. “Dito na rin magkakasubukan kasi hilly na,” said Cajucom. The peloton remained intact for more than the first half of the race, with a few riders attempting to pull away to no avail.
The eight-rider breakaway group of Excellent Noodles’ Fel Angelo Ombal, Standard Insurance’s Jan Paul Morales, Exodus Army’s Genovibo Gocotano III, Go for Gold’s James Escumbien, Victoria Sports’ Daniel Cariño and Rush Camingao, MPT Drivehub’s Rustom Lim and Philippine U23’s Andrei Domingo formed entering Tarlac City before the getting caught up by the peloton. Meanwhile, completing the individual general classification were fourth placer Dominic Perez of Exodus Army (10:41:55), followed by Corpuz (10:41:56), Standard Insurance’s George Oconer (10:41:58), MPT Drivehub’s Rustom Lim (10:42:06), Standard Insurance’s Jan Paul Morales (10:42:33), Malaysia Pro Cycling’s Mohammad Faiz Fakhri (10:42:39), and MPT Drivehub’s Junreck Carcueva (10:42:40). Standard Insurance, likewise, kept the lead in the team general classification with 42:49:24 despite missing mountain specialist Junrey Navarra, who suffered an ankle injury and bruises in a 14-rider crash in Stage 3.
The absence of Navarra is expected to be felt in MPT Drivehub threatens at second after trailing only by 19 seconds, while Exodus Army 54 seconds behind at third..
