CLARK, Pampanga —Ean Cajucom wanted to be an astronaut, a cyclist or a bowler.
As a 15-year-old kid, who won fiesta cycling races left and right seven years ago, Cajucom quickly found out the choice was easy.
The rising star of the Victoria Sports Cycling Team demonstrated his sprinting prowess in his chosen career on Sunday, surging in the final three kilometers of a mass finish to secure victory in the grueling 168.5-kilometer Stage 4 of the 2025 MPTC Tour of Luzon: The Great Revival.
The stage commenced at the Eagle of the North Park in Agoo, La Union, and culminated here at the Filinvest Mimosa Acacia Drive.
It marked the second consecutive stage win for the 22-year-old native of Marikina, who completed the course in 3 hours, 32 minutes, and 45 seconds, crossing the finish line alongside approximately 98 other riders.
Mervin Corpuz of MPT Drivehub finished closely behind in second place, with Aidan James Mendoza of Go for Gold claiming third.
“Kung nag-astronaut ako, wala ako ngayon dito,” said the boyish-looking Cajucom, who also revealed that if he were not a cyclist, he might have been a bowler.
He also attributed their success to sticking to their team’s strategy.
“Plano talaga kunin ang stage win ngayon. Salamat naman at maganda ang panahon at nagtulong-tulong ang team para sa panalo kong ito,” said Cajucom, who honed his sprinting skills by taking part in pocket races in Europe.
In the final 20 kilometers leading into Clark, Cajucom was part of a large peloton that trailed an eight-rider breakaway group by two and a half minutes. The peloton successfully closed the gap in the final stretch.
Included in this peloton was Korean rider Joo Dae Yeong of the Gapyeong Cycling Team, who finished with the same time in 53rd position, allowing him to maintain the coveted yellow jersey as the individual general classification leader.
Joo’s overall time stands at 10:37:12, holding a significant four-and-a-half-minute advantage over Ronald Oranza of Standard Insurance. Mendoza remains in third place, trailing by 4 minutes and 36 seconds.
Cajucom’s consecutive stage victories have propelled him from 32nd to 12th place in the overall standings, with an accumulated time of 10:42:43 – just 5 minutes and 36 seconds behind Joo.
The current individual general classification standings also include Dominic Perez of Exodus Army in fourth place (10:41:55), followed by Corpuz (10:41:56), George Oconer of Standard Insurance (10:41:58), Rustom Lim of MPT Drivehub (10:42:06), Jan Paul Morales of Standard Insurance (10:42:33), Mohammad Faiz Fakhri of Malaysia Pro Cycling (10:42:39), and Junreck Carcueva of MPT Drivehub (10:42:40).
Standard Insurance continues to lead the team general classification with a total time of 42:49:24, despite the absence of their mountain specialist, Junrey Navarra, who sustained an ankle injury and bruises in a 14-rider crash during Stage 3.
Navarra’s absence is anticipated to be a factor in Stage 5 on Monday, April 28, which features a challenging 160.6-km hilly course starting and finishing at the Filinvest Mimosa Acacia Drive.
MPT Drivehub poses a threat in second place, trailing by a mere 19 seconds, while Exodus Army is in third, 54 seconds behind the leaders.
