POC drops plan to let RP riders compete in Laos SEA Games

Marites Bitbit can now kiss her gold medal hopes goodbye. This came after the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), in a special executive board meeting, Wednesday decided to forego with its plan to let the 13-member cycling team compete in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos.

The Philippine cycling team failed to secure accreditation from the International Cycling Union (Union Cycliste Internationale UCI), the world governing body for the sport. The biggest casualty of the group was Bitbit, a potential winner of three gold medals in five events where she’s scheduled to see action – cross country, downhill, mountain bike, road race and Individual Time Trial (ITT). Bitbit, a gold medal winner in the road race event in the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, is the only rider who has the blessings to compete here from both the two warring cycling groups back in the country. It was not a welcome news for the 30-year old rider, who was disappointed with the way things turned out. "We were told that everything is okay, that all of us would compete. Yun pala hindi. Nakakababa talaga ng morale yun." POC sports and rules chair Go Teng Kok completely failed in his quest to give the 12 cyclists UCI recognition despite assuring that everything will be resolved as soon as the riders stepped into this landlocked country. Though the PSC did not spend a single centavo for the cyclists, the POC still pushed the trip with patron Mikee Romero standing as the chief sponsor upon Go’s backing. Romero and Tagaytay Mayor Bambol Tolentino are locked in the battle for the PhilCycling leadership, although Romero has taken a leave of absence last month. Two Filipino riders, 2007 SEA Games gold medalist Joey Barba and Filipino-French recruit Scott Remie, were barred already from competing in the downhill mountain bike competition by the UCI at the start of the cycling competition Wednesday despite Go and the SEAG Federation’s persistence. Humbled by the UCI’s decision, Go said he will propose before the POC executive council to declare UCI president Pat McQuaid and Tolentino as persona non-grata in the Philippines. He will also bring the matter before the 11 members of the Federation to ban both cycling executives from entering their respective countries. The Federation, he claimed, was in unison in appealing before the UCI to field the Filipino riders in Laos’ first-ever hosting of the Games. He cited Malaysia and Vietnam – two countries which are expected to dominate cycling – as the bloc actively pushing for the Filipinos’ participation. – GMANews.TV