Go For Gold aims for consistent quality races for Filipino cyclists

The third and final leg of the Go For Gold Criterium Race Series 3, which took place in General Santos City last month, was warmly welcomed and garnered positive comments. 

The successful one-day bikeathon event served as more than just a way to discover new cycling talents, but also intended to revive the vibrant local bike culture in the country. 

Go for Gold founder Jeremy Go believes that there is a surprising amount of talent among Filipino riders, they just need more time for practice and experience. 

“The goal of the race really is to provide an avenue for cyclists, for Filipino cyclists, and at the same time, to scout talent for our cycling team,” Go told Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Go also mentioned how many promising talents go unnoticed since they are unable to participate in major racing events because most of them take place in Luzon. 

Following that, the outline for next year’s plans includes adding more cities and reaching out to local government organizations about hosting the race in their areas.

“For next year, we have two goals. One is to have more cities involved. Actually, after the event in GenSan, I've already had two cities, two LGUs, reach out to me about doing the race, possibly in their area,” Go added. “And then, we also want to have different kinds of events because cycling is not just Criterium.”

Additionally, plans to create more race events, such as road races, time trials, and perhaps a cumulative points system in order to have a champion at the end of the year. 

With plans to expand the races to other cities, Go hopes to establish a cycling league that will inspire more teams and cyclists to participate on a consistent basis and contribute to the growth of cycling in the Philippines. 

“Hopefully, we will become bigger and better for cycling. Our goal really is Go For Gold is to have more consistent quality races for Filipino cyclists in order to increase the level of quality of the Filipino cyclists,” Go remarked.