French star Huby tops 141.4-km Stage 12 of MPTC Tour of Luzon

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ANTOINE HUBY of 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines — PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL A. PALMA

ANTOINE HUBY of 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines — PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL A. PALMA

MANGATAREM, Pangasinan — From a promising French star during his teenage years, Antoine Huby nearly lost his mind waiting for a team to call him for several months.

And then 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines, a continental team, made the call that quashed all the doubts and helped him get back on his feet.

That is why the 25-year-old Uzel, France native is making sure to reciprocate the trust his team has showed him by claiming his second lap victory in the last three days in Stage 12 that unfolded in Agoo, La Union and culminated in Daang Kalikasan in Mangatarem, Pangasinan on Monday.

The 2018 French national junior and 2020 Under-23 champion flexed his scintillating climbing skills anew in topping the 141.4-kilometer (km) stage in three hours, 17 minutes and 37 seconds, or a minute and 20 seconds ahead of yellow jersey wearer Nikita Shulchenko of LCW UAE.

D’Reyna Orion Cement’s Erickson Delos Santos checked in third with 1:41 minutes off the pace in the lap, a relatively flat stage that featured a steep 7.4-km, Category 2 ascent at the finish.

When Mr. Huby reached the line, he was like a diamond in the sky and celebrated by raising his left hand showing two fingers.

“I now have two stages in my pocket,” he said.

It was another spectacular performance for Mr. Huby that came two days after his Stage 10 brilliance wherein he conquered the brutal Bessang Pass — the second toughest climb in this 14-stage race next only to that final lap in Baguio.

It was his way of saying thank you to the Bong Sual-owned and Ric Rodriguez-coached 7-Eleven team that gave him a second chance.

“It’s really important for me because I have not competed for a long time and I was really out of my mind,” said Mr. Huby, who last suited up for world team Soudal Quick-Step. “I just want to say thank you to my team for bringing me here and my family and all who showed confidence in me.”

“Now I just want to show everybody my place in general pro cycling,” he added.

For his recent feat, Mr. Huby leapfrogged from third in the overall individual race to second, or just 2:30 minutes behind Mr. Shulchenko from 3:54 on Sunday.

The Russian managed to protect the lead after checking in second in the lap.

He currently has an aggregate time of 36:16:21.

Bumped off from No. 2 to 3 was Mr. Shulchenko’s teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai, who was now 4:29 minutes slower than the former and a 1:59 minutes off Mr. Huby.

As nothing changed much in the top 10, a Messrs. Shulchenko-Huby duel is fast approaching in the last two stages — the 20.3-km Lingayen-Lingayen Stage 13 Individual Time Trial and the dreaded 177.07-km Lingayen-Baguio Stage 14.

Mr. Huby, however, knew he would lose time in Stage 13 since he’s not that strong in sprints.

“It’s hard tomorrow (Tuesday), I think I’ll lose time. But I’ll do my best and try to win the last stage,” he said.

It was 7-Eleven’s day in this lap and he regained the nearly two-minute time it lost on Sunday in the team race to stay at the helm in 144:25:51, exactly five minutes ahead of Go for Gold. — Joey Villar