Philippine riders to face Asia's best in mountainbike race
11/03/2009 | 08:58 PM
A four-member Philippine team leaves for Malaysia on Wednesday to compete in the 15th Asian Mountainbike Championship from Nov. 5-8 in the state of Melaka.
The four cyclists will be led by top female rider Marites Bitbit, Nino Surban, Joey Barbar and John Rene Mier. Joining the four-person squad is PhilCycling president and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol" Tolentino and chairman Boying Rodriguez.
Bitbit and her teammates will use the three-day tournament, which is being organized by the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), as part of their preparation for next month’s 25th South East Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos.
Bitbit won the gold medal in the women’s road race and the bronze in the mountainbike cross-country event in the 24th SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Surban won gold in the Southeast Asian mountainbike championships in Brunei early this year and pocketed a bronze in the men’s cross-country event in the 2007 SEAG.
Barba also was a gold medal winner in the last SEA Games in the men’s downhill while this will be the second international event for Mier, who just saw action in the last Asian Junior Cycling Championships held in Indonesia last August.
This will be the second time that the Asian Mountainbike Championships will be held in Malaysia.
The venue for the cross country event will be at the Recreational Forest in Ayer Keroh while the downhill event will be held at Bukit Beruang.
The Philippines and host Malaysia will compete against riders from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Iran. – GMANews.TV
The four cyclists will be led by top female rider Marites Bitbit, Nino Surban, Joey Barbar and John Rene Mier. Joining the four-person squad is PhilCycling president and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol" Tolentino and chairman Boying Rodriguez.
Bitbit and her teammates will use the three-day tournament, which is being organized by the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), as part of their preparation for next month’s 25th South East Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos.
Bitbit won the gold medal in the women’s road race and the bronze in the mountainbike cross-country event in the 24th SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Surban won gold in the Southeast Asian mountainbike championships in Brunei early this year and pocketed a bronze in the men’s cross-country event in the 2007 SEAG.
Barba also was a gold medal winner in the last SEA Games in the men’s downhill while this will be the second international event for Mier, who just saw action in the last Asian Junior Cycling Championships held in Indonesia last August.
This will be the second time that the Asian Mountainbike Championships will be held in Malaysia.
The venue for the cross country event will be at the Recreational Forest in Ayer Keroh while the downhill event will be held at Bukit Beruang.
The Philippines and host Malaysia will compete against riders from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Iran. – GMANews.TV
