Race to find next PH cycling heroes kicks off March 3

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Seeking for the next generation of cycling heroes, the Go For Gold Criterium Race Series 1 kicks off March 3 on Iconic Sacobia Bridge in Clark, Pampanga.

Riders from the nation’s top teams and budding cyclists are bracing themselves in the high-velocity, one-day race on the iconic orange-painted bridge as a rare opportunity to prove their worth.

Aside from the seasoned riders in the men’s and women’s under-23 and elite, the closed road course of 1.6 kilometers can be the launch pad of future talents in both men and women youth and junior categories.

“We want to organize safe and well run races in order to elevate the sport of cycling in the Philippines and use it as a talent identification,” said Go For Gold founder Jeremy Go.

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The race is supported by Go For Gold, Scratchit, Magene, SPN Cycle, Booster C Energy Shot, Hytera and NLEX-SCTEX with the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (PhilCycling), the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Clark Development Corporation (CDC) as partners.

Also raring to pedal in blinding speed on the out and back racecourse, entries in the men’s 30-39 and 40-up are expected to balloon prior to race day along with the manager category.

The men under-23 and elite will race for 45 minutes plus three laps while the women’s side will ride for 40 minutes before sprinting in the final three laps.

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Riders in the women youth will race for 15 minutes plus two laps, women and men junior in 30 minutes plus three laps, men youth in 25 minutes plus three laps, men 30-39 and 40-up in 30 minutes plus three laps and manager category in 20 minutes plus two laps.

“This race is not just for us, but for all teams, so we can lift up the sport of cycling in the Philippines together,” said Go.

According to Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Hualda, professional squads have begun enlisting for the race where the 21-man Go For Gold cycling team will be one of the teams to watch.

“The Go For Gold Criterium Race Series is actually a three-leg race with the succeeding races being penciled in Cebu hopefully in July and in Mindanao either in September or October,” said Hualda.

With the dearth of races since the pandemic in 2020, Hualda pointed out the need to encourage more organizers to hold more local cycling races in order to provide more opportunities for promising cyclists.