PhilCycling (Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino will receive a merit award during the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Congress in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 6.
ACC secretary-general Onkar Singh informed Tolentino of the award in a letter dated May 16.
“The Executive Committee of the Asian Cycling Confederation has decided to confer the 2024 ACC Merit Award for your exemplary service towards the development of the sport of cycling in your region,” Singh said in his letter to Tolentino, who was first elected as PhilCycling president in 2008.
“I feel honored,” Tolentino, current Tagaytay City mayor and Philippine Olympic Committee president, said in a statement.
It was under Tolentino’s watch that BMX rider Daniel Caluag competed at the London 2012 Olympics and two years later, delivered the country's lone gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Tolentino is also credited for the county’s only International Cycling Union (UCI)-standard BMX racing track in Tagaytay City which served as venue for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and the 2023 ACC Asian Championships.
Four Philippine-registered UCI Continental Teams, namely 7-Eleven-Cliqq by Road Bike Philippines, Go-For-Gold Cycling Team, Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team and Standard Insurance by Standardized Cycling Team, emerged under Tolentino's administration.
He also donated dozens of bicycles to various communities in the pandemic years when the bike was the most essential mode of transportation during lockdowns. PNA
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