TAGAYTAY City—The big guns from elite cycling countries didn’t disappoint as the country’s first-time hosting of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track and Para Track Championships got into the groove after two days of intense action at the Tagaytay CT Velodrome.

Olympian Eiya Hashimoto of Japan topped the men’s elite elimination race and Sze Wing Lee of Hong Kong dominated the women's race late Thursday, March 26, in the championships organized by the ACC, hosted by the PhilCycling and Tagaytay City and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.       

Hashimoto showed he doesn’t only have the speed but the endurance as well in ruling the 14-cyclist men elite elimination race that included returning Mark Julius Bonzo, who held fort and exited at No. 11 in one of most interesting events in track cycling.

A three-time Asian Games gold medalist and 14 times winner of the Asian championships winner, Hashimoto later had good words for both the Filipino cyclists and organizers.

"The Philippine team looks good," Hashimoto, 32, said in halting English. "With the right environment and continued development, especially in the early stages of track cycling and rider development. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Philippine riders improve next year.”

China’s Junjie Wu secured the silver medal, while Uzbekistan’s Nikita Tsvetkov took the bronze in the elimination race of the championships supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, MVP Sports Foundation, Sports Plus PH, Toyota and Peak.

Bonzo, 36 and a former road national cyclist, stood his ground and was eliminated ahead of more experienced rivals Joe Lau of Malaysia, Harshveer Singh Sekhon of India and Manssour Ameen Alhayyan of Saudi Arabia.

Chinese-Taipei’s Sze Wing Lee showcased her strength and endurance to beat China’s Ning Chen and Japan’s Misaki Okamoto for the gold medal in the women elite elimination race. 

Angeline Elvira refused to cower against the elite women’s field and also placed 11th out of 13 participants in the women’s contest of the championship hosting that drew positive remarks from International Cycling Union officials managing the races.

“It’s an ideal championship scenario,” said Frederick Chan, head of the timing and results team and also an international commissaire from Hong Kong. “The race operations have gone smoothly without any intervention or hitches and the host organizer and federation have been outstanding.”

It’s the country’s first time to host the continental championships since 1995 when the event was staged at the Amoranto Velodrome in Quezon City and PhilCycling president Abraham Tolentino, also head of the Philippine Olympic Committee, tempered expectations from the national riders.

“We’re starting from scratch and we’re learning,” said Tolentino, also head of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

South Korea’s Hyerin Park won the women junior sprint gold medal, beating Malaysia’s Nur Umairah Qhaisara Zilfikha Razar in the final, while her compatriot Yunchae Kang defeated another Malaysian, Sawda Hasbullah, in the battle for the bronze medal. 

“I just trained hard. I didn’t expect to win or even reach the podium,” said Park.

China’s Liying Yuan dominated the women elite keirin at the expense of teammate Lijuan Wang with Japan’s Haruka Nakazawa completing the podium.

In the men’s junior sprint, Yi Kuan Lin of Chinese Taipei clinched the gold medal over Japan’s Daiya Yamazaki in the final. 

Another Chinese Taipei rider, Zi Qi Wei, earned bronze by overcoming Korea’s Hajin Jeon in the third-place match.

China added to its medal haul in the men’s elite keirin, with Han Xie winning the gold and Zhiwei Li taking the silver. Chinese Taipei’s Shih Feng Kang settled for bronze.

Meanwhile, Filipino riders continued to gain valuable experience against Asia’s top cyclists. 

Bonzo and the rest of the Philippine contingent fell short of podium finishes but displayed determination and resilience against world-class competition