MANILA – Ilongga mountain biker Ariana Dormitorio surged as the No. 1 Women Elite Olympic Cross Country rider in Asia.
Dormitorio, a native of Iloilo City, currently has 320 UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) points.
These included 75 from the Asian Mountainbike Championships in Danao City, Cebu and 60 from the Asia MTB Series-Yawatahama International in Japan.
Her feat was also good for 91st place in the latest UCI rankings released Tuesday – 19 places higher than her previous ranking of 110th.
“I am ecstatic to learn that I was able to break through the UCI’s top 100 rankings,” said the 22-year-old. “I promise to work harder to achieve my ultimate goal of qualifying to the Olympics.”
Dormitorio plans to gain more UCI points to be able to qualify to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by participating in One World Cup in Europe, the PHL National Open and the 2019 Asian Championships.
“We plan to participate in more international competitions for valuable UCI points, especially at the 2019 Asian Championships in Lebanon, where an automatic Tokyo Olympic berth is at stake,” said Ariana’s father and coach Donjie./PN
