By Jerome Lagunzad
Thrust into the spotlight following his remarkable silver medal finish in the junior men’s division road race of the Asian Cycling Championships in Myanmar over the weekend, a lot of grand plans is already in store for promising rider Rex Luis Krog.
But the first Filipino junior cyclist to make a podium finish since Rustom Lim clinched the bronze in the 2011 ACC edition is more than willing to embrace the long yet fulfilling process of becoming a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the years to come.
“Katulad po ng sinasabi nila, marami pa akong kakaining bigas. Pero okay lang naman po ‘yun kasi alam ko naman po kailangan ko pa rin mag-improve overall,” Krog, 17, said yesterday at the sidelines of a press conference celebrating his impressive international debut performance inside the Kabisera Restaurant in BGC-Taguig.
Hualda disclosed that Rex, son of former national team members Marita Lucas and the late Edward Krog, is already being groomed to join this year’s UCI Road World Cycling Championships in Innsbruck, Austria from Sept. 22-30 pending the green light from PhilCycling, the sport’s local governing body.
But they will make sure that the up-and-coming Filipino rider will be at his best form.
“With the kind support given by PhilCycling and UCI, we’re looking for a specialized training for him in Korea or Switzerland,” said Jeremy Go, the vice president for marketing of Powerball Markering and Logistics Corp, the company behind the noble Go for Gold project.
PhilCycling road and track commissioner Jun Lomibao added that plans are also in place for the 5-foot-10 Krog to make him “versatile” by showing his prowess inside the velodrome too.
“Natural climber siya pero sa pagpalit ng gear, lumalabas rin ang skills niya sa sprint. ‘Pag matangkad ka rin, advantage na ‘yun sa track,” he said.
Currently a senior high school student at the Lorraine Technical School of Caloocan City in Monumento, Krog has all the makings of becoming a future world champion, according to Hualda.
