Paul is world’s fourth best sprint cyclist

NICHOLAS Paul achieved yet another milestone for TT when he became the first national cyclist to close a season ranked as high as fourth in the International Cycling Union’s (ICU) men’s sprint standings, overtaking some of the world’s best known and accomplished riders.

The updated standings were released by UCI yesterday.

“I want to give thanks to God because without him this couldn’t be possible. I want to thank him for health and strength,” Paul said today when contacted by Newsday.

The 21-year-old’s recent sprint successes at the final three stages of the UCI World Cup in Berlin (11th), London (fifth) and Hong Kong (sixth), along with his huge eighth place finish at the 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Poland, all contributed to his continued movement up the standings.

The soft-spoken Paul also credited those closest to him for his progress, saying, “I would like to thank my supporters, my family, friends and my coaches. Being fourth in the world is a big achievement for me and I’m just happy with that. I’m happy to press on with my cycling, and I’m hoping that we can make cycling a bigger sport in TT.”

Paul, whose previous best sprint ranking was tenth, now sits just behind Dutch duo Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland, both of whom are on their best form, and Australia’s Matthew Glatzer. Paul is also the youngest rider in the sprint top 20.

There was considerable movement for the sprint team who climbed to ninth place, and for Paul’s team-mates Njisane Phillip ­– now ranked 27th in the sprint – and Kwesi Browne, who moved from 19th to 12th in the men’s keirin.

Browne placed 12th overall at the World Championships, while the team sprint placed 11th.

Meanwhile, Erin Hartwell, who has the trifold job as the national team’s coach and manager, as well as TT Cycling Federation’s technical director, heaped praise on Paul but said his movement and that of his team-mates and the team itself were expected, considering the training team and competitions the national team endured over the past year.

“Nico’s ranking is a big reward for the work that he puts in every single day. He’s a true 24/7 athlete and a consummate professional,” Hartwell said.

“I’m proud of the strides that he has made this year and I look forward to continued improvement from him and all of our athletes on the drive to Tokyo.”

Turning his attention on the team, he said their participation in World Cup competition over the season past was strategic and now works better for the team to qualify and prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games.

“Nothing has been left to chance as we’ve fought toward Olympic qualification and maximising our UCI rankings,” Hartwell explained, adding: “These rankings put us in an advantageous position for 2019 in that we don’t have to chase points desperately the way we did in 2018.

“That process put a tremendous strain on the squad that was felt even at the World Championships. It will be beneficial for this season as we’ll be able to focus our physical improvement over always being ready to race, and maintaining a chronic near-peak condition.

“The team has worked incredibly hard to get to this position. It’ll be nice to reap the benefits of the effort.”