VICTORIA Sports Cycling Team, the newest Philippine professional cycling team, will feature top professional cyclists from Portugal to help boost the team’s performance in international cycling tournaments.
According to VSCT representative Pako Ochoa, the team’s roster “is composed of a mix of veteran riders and young up-and-coming athletes from the Philippines and Portugal, including two former World Tour riders, José Mendes and André Cardoso.”
The United Cycliste Internationale (UCI)-licensed team is set to represent the Philippines in international events starting this year.
The officers of the VSCT include Atty. Franco Lacandalo (team representative), Jobert Catina (rider care and mechanic), Rayzon Galdonez (assistant sports director), and Micael Isidoro (sports director).
The other team members are Jhay Oconer, Kelvin Mendoza, Márcio Barbosa, Luis Krog, Pedro Paulinho, Ochoa, Ean Cajucom, Mendes, Daniel Cariño, and Jerry Aquino.
One of the team’s goals, Ochoa said, is to “regularly and actively represent the country in major international cycling tournaments in Asia and countries around the world.
“Ultimately, our ambition is to produce a world-class team that will proudly wear the colors of our country and help raise the profile of cycling in the Philippines,” he added.
Tapping experienced world-class cyclists, explained Ochoa, “is one of the moves the team has made to help make VSCT internationally competitive.”
This, explained Ochoa, “is a tried and tested strategy that has been used by other teams in the past.
“If we want to keep up with the best cyclists in the world, we have to train and ride with the best cyclists in the world. These include the likes of José (Mendes) and André (Cardoso).”
Mendez is a former World Tour rider for Bora-Hansgrohe and two-time national road champion of Portugal while Cardoso is a former World Tour rider for Trek Segafredo.
