BY MARK REY MONTEJO
Teenage sensation John Andre Aguja is now the highest-ranked Asian rider after moving up from 11th to seventh in the Union Cycliste International (UCI) MTB World Rankings.
After piling up 242 UCI points, Aguja has overtaken Spain’s Hugo Franco Gallego (238, 8th), Denmark’s Nikolaj Hougs (237, 9th), South Africa’s Omar Wilson (235, 10th) and USA’s Luke Mosteller (221, 11th).
With his feat, Aguja became the first-ever FilIpino to make it to the top 10.
His fellow rider from Asia, Japan’s Yuta Uchino, moved up two rungs higher to 38th with 124 points.
Swiss rider Nicolas Halter has kept his No. 1 position with 434 points followed by Danes Albert Philipsen (422), American Nichola Konecny (395), Hungarian Barnabas Vas (335) and Canadian Jacob Roy (266).
The Iriga-based cyclist retained his Thailand MTB Cup Juniors crown last weekend in Kanchanaburi, clocking 56 minutes and 36. 745 seconds in the four-lap (4.5km) course.
Aguja, a multi-medalist in PNG and Batang Pinoy, along with Justine Anastacio, James Carl Dela Cruz and Adrian Nacario are hoping to compete in the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
