Anisimov books second lap win through Stage Five photo finish
TUGUEGARAO — Call this Russian Ivan the great.
In a reprise of his Stage Four magnificence, Ivan Anisimov of LCW UAE claimed his second lap victory via photo finish in Sunday’s Stage Five of the MPTC Tour of Luzon.
It was like déjà vu from Saturday as the 23-year-old Moscow native rode like the wind and outsprinted 64 other rivals in a frantic dash to the line to register his second lap triumph after topping the Palayan-Bayombong Stage Four.
Like everyone else in that mass 64-man finish, Mr. Anisimov clocked two hours, 47 minutes and 26 seconds in the 130.6-kilometer (km) stage that unfurled in Santiago, Isabela and ended in the premier Cagayan Valley city.
Mr. Anisimov said he was shocked he won again.
“I didn’t understand how I won Sunday, but it’s amazing for me,” he said.
As for the scorching heat, which reached as high as 43°C, Mr. Anisimov came in ready for everything.
“It was good, I had many ice and water,” he said.
Excellent Noodles skipper Ryan Tugawin checked in at second while Seoul’s Lee Jung Hoon third.
Mr. Tugawin, for his part, said he kept his calm despite being elbowed by 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines’ Antoine Huby in that mad scramble approaching the balloon arc at the finish.
“I was just focused on trying to win the race,” said the meek 36-year-old Mr. Tugawin, who was part of the 13-man breakaway group from the start only to get caught up by the peloton in Enrile town or around 20 km to the finish.
That pack also included another veteran in El Joshua Cariño of Pangasinan, who was hoping to win his eighth Stage Five lap triumph but fell short in the end.
“Unknown to many, I already own seven Stage Seven wins and I was hoping for No. 8 today (Sunday),” he said. “That’s why I was hoping I could win this one but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
After five grueling laps, LCW UAE’s Nikita Shulchenko remained unshakable at the helm with an aggregate clocking of 13:46:45, 4 seconds ahead of Syrian teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai and 2.04 minutes up over Go for Gold’s Dave Montemayor.
Mr. Shulchenko will wear the yellow jersey for the fourth straight stage in Monday’s relatively flat 228.8-km Stage Six starting at Tuguegarao and ending at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte in what will be the longest lap in this 14-stage race presented by the Metro Pacific Tollways and backed by the Manuel V. Pangilinan group of companies and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Defending champion Joo Dae Yeong of Gapyeong remained stranded at 24th, 3.30 minutes off the pace.
Mr. Montemayor’s Go for Gold squad also kept its stranglehold of the overall team lead with a time of 56:15:28, 11 seconds faster than 7-Eleven and 50 ticks ahead of Standard Insurance. — Joey Villar
