PACHUCA DE SOTO, HIDALGO. The Congress of the Pan-American Cycling Confederation (COPACI) was held until Friday noon, attended by delegates from 26 national federations and chaired by the Frenchman David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The opening of the congress was ideal for the COPACI to give the former Director of Coldeportes de Colombia, Clara Luz Roldán, the Order of the Great Lady of Pan-American Sport, in recognition of her management and support of cycling as a sports leader in that South American country. Clara Luz thus becomes the first woman to receive this award, which earned her the congratulations of several of her colleagues.
Visibly moved, the enthusiastic Colombian sports director thanked the COPACI for this recognition and at the same time pleaded for more women in the sports management structures.
Few later, the president of the UCI David Lappartient, made a detailed explanation of all the work that develops the organism with its Agenda 2022, at the time that reiterated the support to all the national federations of the American continent, fundamentally to which they represent to countries with low economic budget.
For his part, the president of the COPACI José Manuel Peláez, released the report that reflected a synthesis of the work of the entity in 2018, in which stood out the support to the national federations and the realization of the Pan-American championships in all its modalities.
He also vice president of the UCI added that the bicycle family continues to work very hard in its fight against doping, mainly in South America and Central America, the regions with more cases detected.
During the congress, Mr. Frederich Magné, Director of International Relations of the UCI and the World Cycling Center, also gave information. He explained to the delegates the alternatives and possibilities that the federations have for enrolling athletes in that training center.
The president of the Peruvian Cycling Federation, Gustavo Matus de la Parra, offered updated information about the facilities for the cycling events of the upcoming Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, next summer.
At midday, COPACI General Secretary Pedro Frías Armenteros addressed the point for the election of the 9 delegates from the Americas to the next UCI congress, scheduled for Yorkshire, Great Britain, next September.
DELEGATES OF AMERICA CONGRESS UCI 2019.
- Edgardo Hernández Chagoya (Mexico)
- Gabriel Ovidio Curuchet (Argentina)
- Stuardo Rodríguez (Guatemala)
- Jorge Blas Díaz (Dominican Republic)
- Pierre Laflamme (Canada)
- Jose Luiz Vasconcellos (Brazil)
- Jorge Ovidio González (Colombia)
- Steven McCauley (United States)
- Germain Pérez (Chile)
Shortly before its closure, COPACI congress approved the venues for the Pan-American 2020 championships of track, BMX and Mountain Bike, as the route had no candidacy. In the candidacy for the Pan-American Cross Country, there was a beautiful stubbornness between Argentina and Puerto Rico.
The representation of the Cycling Union of the Argentine Republic, José Pepe Martínez, and the new president of the Federation of Puerto Rico, Roberto Collazo, came to the microphone to persuade the voters that their respective countries were in a position to organize an excellent event .
After two consecutive draws, Collazo finally proposed to the plenary that San Juan, Argentina, organize the Pan-American Cross Country of 2020 and that the other San Juan, of Puerto Rico, would be the venue one year later.
Likewise, to organize the Pan-American Marathon, Brazil and Chile presented their respective candidacies. The president of the Chilean Federation, Germain Pérez, presented an excellent audiovisual material, which evidently was decisive for the voters to bow down to Acatama.
PANAMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020.
Track: Lima, Peru.
BMX: Lima, Peru.
MTB:
Down Hill: Sapiranga, Brazil.
Urban cycling: Lima, Peru.
Enduro: Chile
Cross Country: San Juan, Argentina.
Marathon: Atacama, Chile.
At the closing of the congress, the president of the Pan-American Cycling Confederation, José Manuel Peláez, acknowledged the support given by the UCI to American cycling, principally its president David Lappartient and Mr. Frederich Magñe, Director of the World Center.
Peláez exhorted all the national federations to continue working hard, with the conviction that they are all a family committed to a common purpose. (Copaci Press)