Another collarbone fracture ends Paul's medal-laden season

Trinidad and Tobago's Nicholas Paul celebrates after winning the men's keirin gold final during the Commonwealth Games track cycling at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, on July 30. (AP PHOTO)
Trinidad and Tobago's Nicholas Paul celebrates after winning the men's keirin gold final during the Commonwealth Games track cycling at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, on July 30. (AP PHOTO)

ANOTHER COLLARBONE fracture has ruled TT cycling phenom Nicholas Paul out for the rest of the 2022 season.

This means the 2022 Commonwealth Games triple medallist will no longer feature at the October 12-16 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in France and at the five-stage November 12-December 3 Track Champions League in four European cities.

The TT Cycling Federation (TTCF) issued a statement on Tuesday saying Paul was withdrawn from Worlds because he “was involved in a crash while in training and sustained injuries which the doctors advised would require him to be off the bike for the rest of the season.”

Paul, who was awarded the Hummingbird Gold Medal on Republic Day, is based at the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland and is coached by Craig McLean.

TTCF president Rowena Williams on Wednesday confirmed Paul had once again fractured his collarbone.

“Thankfully, it does not warrant surgery but he will not be able to compete at any of the upcoming international meets. We know he was excited to take on Worlds but he will now use this time to rest and recover.”

Newsday tried to contact Paul but was unsuccessful.

In April, Paul fractured his collarbone in a crash in the sprint semi-final of the UCI Nations Cup leg in Scotland. The injury forced him out of competition for ten weeks.

However, in July, he returned with a bang and copped double gold at the Nations Cup in Colombia.

From there, he raced at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, and became the most achieved TT cyclist at the games with his capture of keirin gold, sprint silver and 1km time trial bronze.

Days after his historic performance, the Gasparillo-bred speedster continued his dominance by powering to triple gold, in the same events, at the Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Peru.

Before Tuesday’s injury, Paul said competing at Worlds was one of his final main targets for the year.

At last year’s edition, at the same Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France-venue, the 24-year-old earned silver in the men’s kilometre time trial.

This result ended a 30-year drought as he became the first TT cyclist to capture a World cycling medal after veteran Gene “Geronimo” Samuel’s bronze in the same event in 1991.

Paul also placed fourth and fifth in the sprint and keirin respectively.

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