Syrian Yousef Ibrahiem Alrefai tops Tour of Luzon opening stage

Syrian rider Yousef Ibrahiem Alrefai of LCW UAECycle topped the opening stage of the 2026 Tour of Luzon on Wednesday in Southern Luzon, clocking a time of 3:36:25.

The opening stage, which covered around 150 kilometers, started from CaSoBe in Calatagan, Batangas, and finished at the Tagaytay City Praying Hands.

“I was amazed by my local teammates. They really supported us, and I’m so glad to get our first-ever stage victory here in the Philippines,” Alrefai said.

Alrefai’s teammate Nikita Schulchenko finished four seconds behind to place second, while Douglas Hannay of Excellent Noodles Cycling Team came in third. Filipino riders Jericho Jay Lucero and Rench Michael Bondoc of Go for Gold Philippines, meanwhile, completed the first five.

Stage 2 of the tour will be held on Thursday, running from Clark in Pampanga to New Clark City in Tarlac.

—JKC, GMA News