Cycling has two presidents

There seems to be no end in sight to the leadership crisis at the Philippine Amateur Cycling Association.

Hours after Ponciano Regalado’s group elected its own set of officers, the National Cycling Summit held its own, electing Danao City Congressman Ramonito Durano III as the association’s new president in place of Joaquin Preysler.

Regalado’s group held its elections Saturday morning at the Quezon City Velodrome while Preysler’s group voted in the afternoon of the same day at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Jose Adolfo Cruz, the summit organizer, made formal the election of Durano and 14 other officials, who came from various sectors of the cycling community.

He submitted yesterday to the Union Cycliste Internationale, the world cycling governing body, a report of the summit.

Cruz, a UCI International commisaire, claimed the report will eventually end the conflict that has been dividing the association.

Fifty five delegates from different parts of the country representing various cycling fronts attended Cruz’s summit.

The Philippine Olympic Committee was not represented in both elections.

"Mr. Dayrit told me last Friday that the POC investigative committee recommended to him that he shouldn’t send any representative to both meetings," said Preysler. — Joey Villar