Javiniar rules Tour of Luzon Stage 5

CLARK, Pampanga — Joseph Javiniar used to work as a waiter before he became a professional cyclist for Excellent Noodles.

As a waiter, Javiniar, well, used to wait and attend to customers' orders.

Under the shade of trees at the Filinvest Momosa in Clark, Pampanga, on Monday, Javiniar, now the cyclist, found himself waiting again.

This time, he waited not for the customers' needs but for the opposition as he topped Tour of Luzon Stage 5, crossing the finish line by his lonesome with a time of 3:29:20.

As spectators pound the barricade and cheered him on after ruling the 160.6 km route distance — which started at Filinvest Mimosa with a turning point at the San Jose Mayantoc-Malacampa road then back to Filinvest — Javiniar, 24, raised his right hand and hit the No. 1 sign.

The pride of Pagsanjan, Laguna, really was No. 1 and way ahead of the pack as runner-up Jonel Carcueva of MPT Drivehub and third placer Marc Ryan Lago of Go for Gold Philippines both finished 42 seconds later than his time.

"I didn't expect to win because during the uphill climb, I felt that my speed was really slowing down," said Javiniar, who pulled away from the 7-man lead pack in the final five kilometers of the race.

"It was a tough course because it has uphill and downhill stretches," added Javiniar, the PhilCycling National Championships for road men elite last February, who resigned as a waiter in 2021 to focus on competitive cycling.

It was a double win for Javiniar whose Excellent Noodles also ruled the stage team classification with a combined time of 14:00:44.

Go for Gold and Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team both clocked 42 seconds later than Excellent Noodles to finish second and third, respectively, with superior tiebreak points going to Go for Gold.

Still ahead

In the individual general classification, Joo Dae Yeong of South Korea's Gapyeong Cycling Team kept the yellow jersey as he maintained his overall lead with three stages left in the Tour.

Joo timed 3:30:28 in Stage 5 for a total of 14:07:40.

Ronald Oranza of Standard Insurance Philippines is 4:30 behind while Aidan James Mendoza of Go for Gold is 4:36 slower.

As for the team general classification, Standard Insurance likewise retained its lead with 56:50:50 followed by MPT Drivehub (+19) and Go for Gold (+55).