Hartwell with China for UCI World Champs

A new-look Erin Hartwell has been spotted in a Chinese team kit at the ongoing UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin, Germany. The former TT elite cycling coach was located trackside during China’s performance in their men and women’s team sprint qualification campaign at the Berlin Velodrome on Wednesday.

While it is still unclear what role he possesses within the Chinese team, Hartwell was seen via televised footage looking animated in the technical area of the velodrome while China was on the tracks.

Over the past couple weeks, rumours swirled within the local cycling fraternity about Hartwell joining the Chinese cycling team. On February 12 Newsday reached out to the ex-TT coach via e-mail requesting confirmation but he did not address the issue.

"Sincerest apologies, but I am unable to comment on any matters at this time. All the best,” he responded while still using his Sport Company-issued e-mail address.

On January 22, four days before the start of TT’s penultimate Olympic qualifier, the UCI Track World Cup in Canada, Newsday revealed that the ex-US cyclist was granted leave by SporTT "to pursue other opportunities."

His request for leave came on the heels of several issues within the TT Olympic cycling camp.

In late December, 2019, two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip and compatriot Keron Bramble took five new Mavic wheels (US$15,600) from the National Cycling Velodrome, Couva, despite being told by Hartwell the wheels were the property and assets of the TT Cycling Federation (TTCF). Phillip responded stating the squad had been using his personal wheels to train/compete over the past two years, destroying five in the process, and he took the equipment to facilitate training ahead of the 2024 Olympic campaign.

Three days later, Panam Sports revealed TT had been stripped of two medals (men’s team sprint gold and men’s individual sprint silver) due to doping discovered at the Pan American Games in Peru, in July/August of last year. It has been confirmed that a TT athlete tested positive for a controlled substance – not a performance enhancer.

Then in early January, Phillip and team sprint partner Keron Bramble pulled out from all pre-Tokyo 2020 Olympic training and qualifier competitions citing TT’s slim-to-zero chances of securing a men’s team spot. Since then, the pair has not returned to training, even though Hartwell believed there was still a mathematical chance of qualifying.

The pair’s exit from training confirmed TT will not be represented in the team sprint at the Olympic Games. Since then, Hartwell has directed all questions to be posed to his attorney, Shari Niles Hypolite, and has declined to speak on any matter surrounding TT cycling.

In May 2010, Hartwell signed a two-year contract as national team coach under the then TTCF president, Robert Farrier. Six months later, he was axed by former minister of sport Anil Roberts.

In 2017 Hartwell returned as the sport’s Olympic technical director on a three-year contract and has helped elevate TT cycling with several international and regional accolades. His contract in this position was scheduled to run until September 2020.