Krog lives up to promise

Rex Luis Krog is starting to make winning elite races a regularity.

Touted as the country’s most promising rider, the Go For Gold Philippines junior cyclist recently ruled the punishing Tour of Matabungkay.

The 18-year-old Krog captured the overall general classification title in seven hours, 11 minutes and 13.45 seconds.
Runner-up Mark Ryan Mendoza was 1:37 behind and third-placer Albert Primero 2:21 back.

The 16-year-old Ean Cajucom, a prized find by Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Calitis Hualda, placed fourth overall in the four-stage race, 2:45 slower than the champion.

“We hope our young riders continue to improve,” said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go.

Up next for Krog, who brought home a silver medal from the UCI Asian championships early this year, is the Tour de Linggarjati in West Java, Indonesia, on Oct. 25 to 27.

According to Hualda, Go For Gold is focused on developing young riders in line with the Philippines’ bid to send a rider to the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

“I’m sharing this victory with Ean,” said Krog. “With our solid teamwork, we were able to implement our race plan against our opponents.”