Olympic-bound cyclist Nicholas Paul ranked No 2 in world

Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul is now ranked as the second fastest men’s individual sprinter in the world.

According to the latest International Cycling Union (UCI) rankings, released on Thursday, Paul (1,317.5 points) trails current Polish world leader Mateusz Rudyk (1,362.5 pts) and lies slightly ahead of Colombian Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (1,315 pts).

Rounding off the world’s top five sprinters were Mohd Aziulhasni Awang (Malaysia) and Jair Tjon En Fa (Suriname), respectively.

TT’s Keron Bramble, who has been out of competition since the pandemic hit in mid-March last year, is ranked 58th (420 pts) while compatriot Quincy Alexander (355 pts) is 75th.

Paul’s recent surge up the UCI rankings also allowed TT to climb to 16th on UCI’s nation ranking.

Both individual and nation improvements came after Paul pedalled to silver at the International Belgian Track Meeting one week ago. This was his first official meet in over a year because of the pandemic.

His last major competition was the World Track Cycling Championships in Berlin, Germany, in February 2020.

Paul and countryman Kwesi Browne are currently based at the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. The TT riders are gearing up for Olympic debuts at the Tokyo Games.

Paul will fly the red, white and black in the men’s sprint and keirin (optional) events while Browne is preparing for the latter only.