Bringing track cycling back

Cycling is one of the biggest sports in Europe. In countries like Belgium, France and their neighbors, participation is high, and towns even have teams that regularly join smaller road races. In the Philippines, though, cycling took a major hit after the ban on cigarette advertising began in the US in 1970 and gradually spread throughout the world. Since then, the country has had only two major outdoor cycling events each year, only two real opportunities for cyclists to earn prize money. Track cycling, though, has all but disappeared, and the rare venues like Amoranto velodrome have slowly decayed. 

“My passion is to bring back the long lost glory of Philippine cycling, be able to discover new talents that would give pride to our country,” says Armando Bautista, former secretary-general of PhilCycling. “I myself am a product of this event, maybe if not for this event I did not finished my studies. I was given the opportunity to study in college through scholarship.”

Manding recalls the great popularity of cycling from the 1970’s until the 1990’s. The biggest national sports event in the Philippines, the Palarong Pambansa and PRISAA included cycling. But perhaps as fallout of the decline of outdoor races, track cycling was eventually abolished. To this day, in the minds of school authorities, it isn’t even a blip on the radar, until now.

This writer was able to cover a couple of nationwide cycling tours in the late 1980’s. There is a certain fortitude one has to have as a cyclist, a fearlessness in the face of the unknown, unassisted by technology save for the rudimentary pedals, chain and wheels. You are on your own. As a youngster, I met some cyclists from my mother’s native Pangasinan. My jaw dropped at their endurance, as they would bike almost a hundred kilometers up to Baguio to catch a movie and buy vegetables. But it was a hard life, with no monetary reward, only the joy of being free of encumbrances.

Bautista lists his friends and contemporaries who lifted up the sport in that bygone era: Domingo Quilban who was taking up criminolgy at PCCr along with Ramon Macaraig, who is now a ranking police officer. Another cyclist was Atty. Cornelio Padilla Jr. from FEU, taking up law and an Olympian. Bautista was a cycling scholar at FEATI with Carlos Antenor, an Asian Games veteran; Maximo Junta Jr., an Olympian; Roberto and Dindo Querimit who also made the Asian Games; Allan Callao, Carlos Olivares, Mauel Cordero, Rod Mejia and the Enagan brothers, all from FEATI. Rodrigo Arzadon was from Adamson University.

“Nowadays, we are all concentrated with road races where there is only one medal being contested,” Bautista continues. “But do you know that with Track Cycling there are nine medals being competed for internationally like in the SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympics? So why don’t we look at this opportunity for our country and help those indigent young cyclists to pursue their studies, whose parents cannot afford sending them to college studies? We have a lot of historical gold medalists in this field.”

Bautista’s lofty goal has five components. First, he aims to restore scholarships for cyclists, and have them participate in the Palarong Pambansa, PRISAA and other school-based competitions. Secondly, he hopes to have more velodromes built to accommodate future cyclists. Third, he wants to entice cyclists to use track ovals nationwide as training grounds and competition venues. In addition, Bautista plans to provide insurance and protection on the road under the Philippine Cycling Foundation. Lastly, he hopes to train the next generation of coaches, to expand the sport all over the country.

As a step in this direction, Bautista has organized the “Karerang Pinoy – Track Cycling Revival,” which will have its championship tomorrow morning at the Cavite State University (CAVSU) oval in Indang, Cavite. Champions will be hailed in teens, men’s and women’s categories. Winners will receive P 3,000 while runners-up will get P 2,000 and P 1,000 respectively. Placers will all be awarded medals. There will also be a fun ride through Alfonso, and a dance work-out before the main races. Bautista is hoping to spark a bigger movement to revive track cycling all around the country. Big dreams starting with a kick of a pedal.