The American Cycling Confederation was founded on September 24th, 1922 in Montevideo, Republic of Uruguay, being therefore the second oldest Cycling organization in the world after the International Cycling Union (UCI).
Its first President was the Uruguayan engineer Juan Bautista Maglia who was in the position for 36 years, until being replaced in 1958 by the Colombian General Marcos Arambula Durán, who chaired the organization for 21 years. During his term the name of the organization was changed for its current name of Pan American Cycling Confederation.
Arambula held the position till 1979, date in which the Congress of the organization was organized in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the Venezuelan Armando Ustariz was elected President of COPACI. In 1987 during the Congress hosted in Indianapolis, USA, Mr. Guillermo Gutiérrez, from Mexico was elected President and stay in that capacity for four years.
In 1991, during the COPACI Congress held in Havana, Mr. José Manuel Peláez Rodriguez, from Cuba, was elected President, who was further appointed for the UCI Management Committee up to date. In 2008 Peláez Rodríguez was elected UCI Vice President.
During the term of Mr. General Arambula Durán the Pan American Games started to be organized on an annual basis. The Masters Championships were firstly hosted and then the Junior categories. The female categories were added during the leadership of President Armando Ustariz, in 1987, during the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, United States.
In 1985 the UCI firs awarded the Order of Merit UCI to a representative of our continent, Cuban Benito Sobero Fernandez.
So far, the following persons have been members of the UCI (first known as International Federation of Amateur Cycling – FIAC): Ángel ¨Zapopan¨ Romero; Benito Sobero (Mexico) and José Manuel Peláez (Cuba); Richard Garmo and Mike Plant (United States) and Artemio Leonnet (Venezuela)
