The Panamanian Cycling Federation (Fepaci) officially presented at a press conference on Tuesday the two international competitions that it will host in the coming days: the Central American Road Championship, from April 14 to 16, and the Pan American Road Championship, from 18 to 23,
The first competition will bring together riders from the elite and under-23 categories from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and Panama, who will take part in the road and individual time trial modalities. Both tests will be held on a 7.5-kilometre closed circuit on the Cinta Costera.
The competition against time will take place on the opening day, while the long-distance test in the sub-23 category will take place on Saturday and will cover 135 kilometers. For the closing of Sunday the masculine and feminine elite will be defined.
The other event that will take place next, the Pan American Road Race, was also announced to the press, and it was reported that more than 30 nations and 350 cyclists are expected, who will have the Gonzalillo-Pedregal highway, Vía Panamá Norte, as their competition venue. , in the corregimiento of Ernesto Córdoba Campos.
José Manuel Peláez, president of the Pan American Cycling Confederation (COPACI), showed his confidence in the success of Panama to organize these two jousts as the venue for the XXXVII Pan American Road and Central American Championship.
“The Pan American Confederation and the UCI are aware that Panama can carry out these elite international cycling events,” reiterated Peláez, who explained that the designation of Panama as the venue took into account “the good work and development that is having cycling”.
Worldwide, Panama occupies the 37th position out of a total of 45 nations that have direct quotas to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This result is due to the accumulation of UCI points during the 2023 season.
The official launch of Panama as the venue for both events was chaired by the country’s sports and political authorities, while the national tricolor team that will compete at the Central American and Pan American level was presented. Both jousts will distribute points for the UCI classification, with a view to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.