Dwight Santos proudly shows the gold medal he won in the Philippine Cycling Festival. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Cebuano cycling prospect Dwight Santos didn’t regret his last-minute decision to join the Philippine Cycling Festival last June 3, 2022, in Clark, Pampanga.
This as Santos, who will turn 16 on Wednesday, June 8, ruled the 14-16 youth category of the major cycling event.
Interestingly, Santos didn’t plan to compete until the last minute of the registration.
Santos told CDN Digital that he decided to compete in the race during the extended period of registration.
He was having second thoughts because he thought he lacked the preparation needed for the major race. He was also recovering from a collar bone injury he sustained in January.
“Last minute decision na jud to nako mag pa register kay sirado naman ang registration, pero nikalit lang sila ug announce nga mo extend sila sa registration. Mao to nagpa register ko ug dali-dali, bisan ug kuwang nako sa time mag training. Mura man gud ug naay sige push ug sigeg sulti sa akong utok nga apil lagi, basin makadaog ka,” Santos said.
(It was a last-minute decision to register because registration was actually closed already but they suddenly announced that registration was extended. So I registered in a hurry even if I had little time to train. It was as if someone kept telling me to join because I might actually win.)
And win he did.
Santos, who represents JM Cycle, finished first among 15 other competitors in his category. He raced in a 1.47-mile Criterium Race, which consists of 10 laps at the Clark Parade Grounds.
He bested Aron Razalan and Mark Kairos Amban, who settled for second and third places, respectively.
With his victory, Santos was selected by the coveted Go For Gold Philippines’ developmental training program, where he can become the country’s future top-tier cyclist who will be made to represent the Philippines in major cycling events, including the Southeast Asian Games.
“Wala ko magdahom jud nga ako ang makadaog, considering akong mga nakalumba, nag training jud sila ug maayo. Nagtinabangay ra mi sa akong pamilya para makaadto ko sa Pampanga, kay kusog kaayo akong paminaw ato nga murag naa jud nindot mahitabo nako kung molumba ko didto,” added the grade nine student from Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
(I really didn’t expect to win, considering that other cyclists trained hard for this. My family and I just helped each other in making sure I’d be able to go to Pampanga because I really had a feeling that something good was going to happen if I raced there.)
Santos said his next target is the PhilCycling National Championships for Road from June 21 to 24 in Tagaytay City.
The Cebuano has surely gone a long way since starting as a ‘pandemic rider.’
Santos revealed that he started cycling late in 2019 as a leisure biker. But his fondness of the sport grew bigger in the middle of 2020 when the Covid-19 trend was at its all-time high.
He realized that time that his long rides and climb to the Transcentral Highway in Barangay Busay should be invested into something. This is why he decided to join pocket races in Cebu.
“Basketball jud una nga sport akong giduwa, pero na frustrate ra ko nadugay kay usa na ang lack sa height. Mao to nag sugod ko ug bike kay nalingaw sad ko nag tan-aw sa akong mga kaila nga nag fixed gear, until such time nipalit ko ug bike. Didto ko nagsugod ug compete,” said Santos.
(Basketball was my first sport but I got frustrated in the long run, one is because of the lack of height. So I started biking because I enjoyed watching my friends who used fixed-gear bikes until such time that I bought a bike too. That’s when I started to compete.)
Now, Santos is as promising as ever, especially as he dons the coveted Go for Gold jersey worn by some of the country’s elite athletes including some Cebuanos such as Jonel Carcueva and Andrew Kim Remolino.
/bmjo
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