“We won’t learn if we don’t make any mistakes”: Mervin Corpuz eyes redemption with new team in MPTC Tour of Luzon

For Mervin Corpuz, the road back to redemption begins on familiar but unforgiving terrain. The Pangasinan rider returns to the MPTC Tour of Luzon not just as a former sprint champion, but as a rider still chasing closure after a painful collapse in last year’s final stage. 

For Mervin Corpuz, the road back begins with a lesson he refuses to forget. “We won’t learn if we don’t make any mistakes,” Corpuz said during the opening ceremony at CaSobe Resort.

Now racing under 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines, he enters a deeper, more competitive field where experience, endurance, and recovery matter as much as raw speed.

The 2026 edition of the Tour of Luzon is its most ambitious yet—stretching across 14 stages and more than 1,800 kilometers of racing from Calatagan, Batangas to Baguio City, cutting through provinces such as Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan before finishing in the high-altitude climb of Camp John Hay.

A total of 91 cyclists from 13 teams (7 local, 6 foreign) are competing, making it one of the most internationally diverse fields in Philippine cycling history. 

The lineup includes powerhouse local squads like MPT DriveHub, Standard Insurance, Go For Gold, and 7-Eleven Cliqq, alongside international teams from South Korea, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

This year’s race carries the theme “A Heritage in Motion,” emphasizing not just competition but the cultural significance of the Tour as it passes through towns that treat each stage like a festival on wheels.

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Mervin Corpuz now rides for 7-Eleven after helping MPT DriveHub win the team classification in last year’s Tour of Luzon. Corpuz eager to atone for his final lap struggles after chasing eventual champion Daeyeong Joo for most of the 2025 edition @inquirersports pic.twitter.com/DXBplzQ3mp

— Jonas Terrado (@jonasterradoINQ) April 28, 2026

For Corpuz, however, the focus is personal. Last season, he helped MPT DriveHub Cycling Team secure the overall team crown and earned the Sprint King title, but the individual glory slipped away on the brutal Kennon Road climb—where fatigue erased what had been a promising breakaway. 

That 38th-place finish remains a painful reminder of how quickly mountain stages can overturn a race.

Now riding for 7-Eleven Cliqq, he joins a roster that includes Jonel Carcueva, Ronald Oranza, Rustom Lim, and Joseph Javiniar.

“It will be a good race tomorrow because of the climb. Let’s just wait for the results and let’s see what happens,” Corpuz said.

The stakes this year are higher than ever. Organizers have confirmed a ₱12 million total prize pool, the biggest in Philippine cycling history, with ₱1 million for the individual champion and ₱2 million for the winning team. 

Early signs already show how intense the race will be. In Stage 1 (Calatagan–Tagaytay), foreign squads quickly made their presence felt, with Egypt’s Yousif Ibrahiem and Russia’s Nikita Shulchenko taking the opening honors for LCW UAE Cycling, signaling that international contenders are ready to challenge local dominance.

Beyond competition, the race is also a test of survival. Riders will endure scorching coastal roads, rolling inland climbs, and punishing mountain ascents that have historically defined the Tour of Luzon as the country’s ultimate endurance event.

For Corpuz, the challenge is no longer just about chasing breakaways—it’s about lasting all 14 stages, managing energy, and finally converting experience into a complete finish.

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