THE country’s hosting of three International Cycling Union (UCI) races and local cyclists’ exposure in international events will greatly enhance the dream of qualifying a Filipino to the Olympic Games.
This was declared by top officials of the country’s first UCI continental team, the 7-Eleven Cliqq Air12 Roadbike Philippines as the squad celebrated its 10th anniversary on Monday night at the Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City.
Top local executives of the largest convenience store chain in the world celebrated the team’s milestone as they presented an expanded pool of cyclists that include a women’s elite and developmental team.
Vic Paterno, called the godfather and CEO of 7-Eleven Philippines, said that even though the team has collected praises in the past decade, the top prize would be qualifying a Filipino to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We hope to send somebody to the Olympics, It’s been a long time,” Paterno said.
The men’s elite, composed of tested riders like pioneer Mark Galedo and veterans Rustom Lim and Bonijoe Martin, aren’t the lone representatives of 7-Eleven anymore, as team management expanded the program.
Singapore 2015 Southeast Asian Games women’s individual time trial gold medalist Marella Salamat and fellow standout Irish Wong head the women’s elite squad that co-team manager Bong Sual said would soon be a UCI women’s continental team.
The under-23 squad will also be harnessed in the same manner as the elite riders.
With the family now bigger, Sports Director Ric Rodriguez said they will do everything to send a Filipino to Tokyo 2020.
“We need to continue sending teams abroad. We are committed to help the cycling community with our shared vision of producing an Olympian,” Rodriguez said.
According to Rodriguez, tops in their objectives is to finish strong in the Asian Cycling Championships in Uzbekistan in April.
After the Asian championships, the goal is to pile as many UCI points as possible in local and international races to land the country in the top 50 in the world rankings—the cutoff for the Tokyo Games.
The team is also keen on performing well in the Southeast Asian Games late this year.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes