Friday, March 23, 2007 After Bitbit, Philcycling bars Surban
AFTER Baby Maritess Bitbit, the Philippine Cycling Federation then questioned the participation of Niño Surban in the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia in May.
In a letter to Greater Cebu Sports Organizing Committee (GCSOC), a privately organized group, Philcycling secretary general Lorenzo Lomibao Jr. said that Surban, a non-member of the national team, could not represent the country.
“The federation learned about your organization’s intention to send Surban alongside Bitbit, but please note that Mr. Surban is not a member of the national team, so he could not officially carry the colors of the country in the Arafura Games, or in any other international competition,” the letter said.
Lomibao suggested for GCSOC to instead send one of the five members of the national team members, “All of whom painstakingly and religiously trained under the federation.”
Danao City Sports Commission chairperson Oscar “Boying’ Rodriguez said that what Philcycling is doing to the Cebuano cyclists is driven by personal motives.
“They want their people to be sent abroad for free. Our purpose for organizing this is to give Cebuanos a chance to compete internationally,” Rodriguez said.
Surban had carried the country’s colors in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. He was however dropped from being an RP team mainstay last year, when the Talamban, Cebu cycling sensation refused to relocate to Manila.
Surban, who virtually grew up in Danao City, maintains he trains in Danao, which has far better training facilities. In Manila, mountain bike racers are forced to practice on flat surfaces and if they wanted to train on terrains, they had to travel far to be able to find a suitable location.
Rodriguez is adamant in his decision to send Surban. “They may have stopped Maritess, but they can’t stop me from bringing Niño. We are trying to help our athletes in our own way and all they do is try to stop it,” Rodriguez added.
Rodriguez, a longtime patron of mountainbike, was the one who discovered and developed both Bitbit and Surban. MCB
