Pinoy rider breaks through, tops Stage 3

Alta Sports13 days ago · 427 views

Pinoy rider breaks through, tops Stage 3 image

Photo: MPTC

By Nate Castillo

Dave Montemayor of Go for Gold Philippines quelled a two-day foreign uprising after ruling Stage 3 of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) Tour of Luzon 2026 that ended in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija on Thursday.

The Meycauayan, Bulacan native crossed the finish line of the 145.97 race that took off in Clark in three hours, 23 minutes and nine seconds in a bunch crossing, which included his teammate Marc Ryan Lago for a 1-2 finish for Go for Gold.

Sumiso Basalan of Excellent Noodles landed in third with the same clocking as Montemayor and Lago.

Photo: MPTC

Meanwhile, Russian Nikita Shulchenko of LCW UAE Cycling Team snatched the yellow jersey from teammate and Stage 1 winner Yousef Ibraheim Alrefai with an aggregate time of six hours, 59 minutes and 38 minutes.

Shulchenko, who finished fourth in Stage 3 with the same time as Montemayor, led second-running Alrefai by 49 seconds while Montemayor moved at far third with two minutes and four seconds behind.

Go for Gold regained the lead in the team general classification with an overall time of 29:07:00.

Eleven seconds back was 7Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines while Standard Insurance was 45 seconds behind in third. Excellent Noodles, after taking pole in Stage 2, slipped to fourth, three minutes and 11 seconds behind Go for Gold.

Finishing fifth to seventh in the individual classification was Seom Cha of Stage 2 team time trial winner Seoul Cycling Team, followed by Antoine Huby of 7Eeleven and Dave Cangayao of Standard Insurance, who all crossed the line alongside Montemayor.

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