GO for Gold junior rider John Andre Aguja hit two birds with one stone at the Thailand MTB Cup1 Juniors race.
Aguja not only retained his title in the competition but also gained precious points to improve his place in the UCI World rankings.
Aguja climbs to 8th spot
With his back-to-back conquests in the race held in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Aguja increased his points total for the year to 242 and positioned himself at 8th spot in the UCI world juniors rankings.
From 11th place, Aguja surpassed Hugo Franco Gallego of Spain (238), Nikolaj Hougs of Denmark (237) and Omar Wilson of South Africa (235) to become the first-ever Filipino cyclist to gain a spot in the UCI Top 10 rankings.
Aguja bared that before the race started, improving his UCI rankings was the least of his priorities as he is focused on defending his title and giving the Philippines another gold medal.
“Hindi ko po kasi agad inisip 'yung rankings, mas nasa isip ko yung gold para sa Pilipinas. Yun naman po kasi ang mission namin sa Go for Gold, umani ng karangalan para sa bansa,” said the 16-year old pride of Iriga City.
Aguja eyes World Cycling
Aguja hopes that Go For Gold can continue giving him opportunities to compete in MTB Cross Country's bigger stage.
“Sana po matulungan ako ng Go for Gold at ng mga sponsors natin na mag-compete sa World Cycling. Mas pagiigihan ko pa. Di po ako magsasawa manalo,” Aguja added.
Meantime, Aguja's teammate Justine Anastacio secured the bronze medal for Go for Gold's 1-3 finish in the juniors tournament.
Indonesian champion Feri Yudoyono stunned PhilCyling champion Adrian Nacior and Go for Gold interim teammate James Carl Dela Cruz in the final 800 meters of the race to rule the Junior Under-23 elite division.
The three riders were part of the breakaway group early on as local bet and Thai national champion Methasit Boonsane was stucked in the back, and was pinned by last year’s champion Gart Gaerlan and fellow Go for Gold cyclist Dhave Roa.
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