Paul becomes third fastest TT cyclist in history

Nicholas Paul became the third fastest Trinidad and Tobago cyclist of all time with a fifth place finish overall in the men’s sprint event at the final leg of the UCI (International Cycling Union) Track Cycling World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, yesterday.

In the qualifying round, Paul finished fifth among the 23 riders with a blistering time of 9.848 seconds and is now among the fastest three cyclists in TT history. The top nine cyclists in the qualifying round advanced to round two, while the other cyclists had to compete in round one. TT cyclist Njisane Phillip also qualified for round two after finishing ninth in 9.954.

In round two, Paul defeated Russian Nikita Shurshin in heat five with a time of 10.359 to advance to the quarter-finals. In heat eight, Frenchman Rayan Helal got past Phillip in 10.275.

In the quarter-finals, Paul gave it his all against Olympic silver medallist and five-time World Champion Theo Bos of Beat Cycling Club/Netherlands. In the three-race series, Bos won the first race with a 11.422 clocking before Paul levelled the series with a 10.959 clocking in race two. In the decider, Bos with a time of 11.119 advanced to the semi-finals. Bos eventually won bronze, while Vasilijus Lendel of Lithuania took silver and Matthijs Buchli of Beat Cycling Club/Netherlands won gold.