PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino laid down the ground work for the country’s active return to track cycling during the International Cycling Union’s 193rd Congress over the weekend in Zurich.

A brand-new UCI-standard indoor 250-meter velodrome is on the rise in Tagaytay City and is expected to be operational early in the second quarter of 2025 and negotiations with the UCI, including the international federation’s president, David Lappartient, has started in earnest.

“The UCI provides support to all its member nations and I’m glad that with the velodrome in Tagaytay City, the Philippines could kickstart its return to active track cycling,” said Tolentino, also the president of the national sports association for cycling, PhilCycling.

The support, Tolentino said, would come through the UCI’s Solidarity and Emerging Countries Commission and Program.

Tolentino also established deeper links between the UCI and Southeast Asia, particularly with his Indonesian counterpart Raja Sapta Oktohari.