By REYNALD MAGALLON
The beautiful Tagaytay City is set to become a hotbed to top cycling talents in the continent as it hosts the 2023 Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) BMX Racing and Freestyle Championships over the weekend at the Tagaytay City BMX Park and the newly-refurbished and multi-purpose Tagaytay City Combat Center.
With the scenic views serving as backdrop to what is expected to be an exciting and thrilling competition, Tagaytay City is opening its gates to athletes and coaches from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia in the three-day tiff which officially fires off on Friday, July 14.
“Our warmest welcome to the athletes, coaches and officials for the ACC BMX Championships,” said Tagaytay City Mayor and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who also heads the host national federation PhilCycling.
Bannering the Philippine contingent is London Olympian Daniel Caluag, the lone Filipino gold medalist in the Incheon 2014 Asian Games, and former Asian Juniors champion Patrick Coo while national coach and athlete Renz Viaje will be leading the campaign.
The freestyle category will see a total of 38 participants, including 14 men and seven women in park, as well as 10 men and seven women in flatland while the racing event will have 53 riders entered in the championships and 35 in the challenge event.
The qualifications for freestyle competitions in flatland and park will serve as curtain raiser to the tiff on Friday while the final is set the next day.
The motos for the BMX racing events, on the other hand, are also set on Saturday and early Sunday with the finals happening in the afternoon, according to PhilCycling secretary-general Atty. Billy Sumagui.
This Asian championship, which is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union and the ACC, will unfold at the UCI-standard racing facility, the sole BMX park in Asia equipped with a roof. It is also now the second major international competition hosted by Tolentino in Tagaytay City since the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in December 2019.
