Tour of Luzon: Mervin Corpuz hopes to learn from last year’s mistakes

Mervin Corpuz and the 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines at the MPTC Tour of Luzon.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CALATAGAN, Batangas—Mervin Corpuz is eager to atone for last year’s final lap struggles when he rides for a new team in the MPTC Tour of Luzon.

The 14-stage bikathon starts Wednesday in this town, with Corpuz now competing for 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines after helping MPT DriveHub claim the team overall crown.

READ: Tour of Luzon: South Korea’s Dae Yeong Joo eyes repeat

Corpuz also won the Sprint King award, but his 38th-place finish left a sour taste in the mouth after spending most of the revived race chasing Daeyeong Joo.

“We won’t learn if we don’t make any mistakes,” Corpuz said in Filipino during the opening ceremony at CaSobe Resort here.

The Pangasinan native had taken the provisional lead from Joo in the early stage of the final stage as part of a breakaway group, and it appeared that Corpuz was on his way to victory.

But Corpuz faded durng the Kennon Road ascent, eventually falling out of contention by the time he crossed the finish line at Camp John Hay.

READ: Tour of Luzon stakes P12M pot, biggest in its history

He will try to be more calculated as possible this time as part of a group of prominent Filipino riders seeking to rule the latest edition of the derby on wheels.

Corpuz, 7-Eleven teammate Jonel Carcueva plus Standard Insurance’s Ronald Oranza, MPT DriveHub’s Rustom Lim and Excellent Noodles’ Joseph Javiniar are among the fancied and celebrated pedalists who will seek glory for the next two weeks.

“It will be a good race tomorrow because of the climb,” he said while keeping mum on his chances. “Let’s just wait for the results and let’s see what happens.”