Cajucom triumphant in Tour of Luzon Stage 3

(UPDATE) SAN JUAN, La Union — In a photo finish, Ean Cajucom of Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team emerged triumphant at the Tour of Luzon Paoay to Vigan route on Saturday.

Clocking an identical time of two hours, 51 minutes and 42 seconds with 98 other cyclists in the third of the eight-stage race, Cajucom claimed the "purple jersey," or the stage lead.

This is because Cajucom garnered the most bonus points at finish (15) among the cyclists who logged the same time as he is.

Runner-up Ahmad Awang Ilah of Malaysia Pro Cycling gained 12 points while third-placer Poul Aquino of Dreyna Orion Cement gained nine.

Under the scorching heat of the sun, a peloton of 99 cyclists, including the 22-year-old Cajucom, crossed the finished line almost simultaneously.

The last 13 cyclists timed differently from the first 99 in the 130-kilometer (km) race with the Capital Quezon Avenue in Vigan serving as the starting point and the San Juan Municipal Hall in San Juan the end.

Cajucom talked about how the adjustments made by his team after the opening stage (Paoay-Paoay) led to his victory.

"Our strategy is to take it as a one-day race because we made a mistake during Day 1 because we didn't have a man in front," said Cajucom in Filipino.

"We failed to prioritize the gc (general classification), but because of it, we also generated ideas on what we're going to do in the next stages."

Meanwhile, South Korean Joo Dae Yeong, who topped the opening stage on Thursday, retained his "yellow jersey" (overall individual lead) as he finished 76th in the third stanza with a time same as Cajucom.

Joo clocked a total of 7:04:27 followed by Standard Insurance Philippines' Ronald Oranza, who accumulated 7:08:59 and Go for Gold's Aidan James Mendoza, who pedaled in 7:09:07.

As for the third-stage team classification, Malaysia Pro Cycling, in a photo finish, claimed the title with 11:26:48.

Excellent Noodles and Exodus Army placed second and third, respectively, with the same time as the Malaysian team.

In the general or overall team classification, Standard Insurance kept its lead with a total of 28:38:34 followed by MPT Drivehub with 28:38:43 and Exodus Army with 28:39:18.

The Tour of Luzon continues on Sunday with Stage 4 featuring the 163.7-km Agoo to Clark route, starting from Eagle of North and ending in Filinvest Mimosa, Acacia Drive.