Paul, Browne beaten in Nations Cup keirin

TRINIDAD and Tobago cyclists Nicholas Paul and Kwesi Browne were eliminated from the men’s keirin event on day two of the Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup at the Cairo International Velodrome in Egypt on Thursday.

Racing out heat seven in the opening round, Paul topped the six-man field and automatically advanced to the quarter-finals.

Browne however, was not as lucky as he finished fifth in heat eight and was forced to contest the repechage race for a final chance of advancing to the quarters.

There, he bettered his first round performance and placed third, behind Hungarian Sandor Szalontay and Spaniard Alejandro Chorro respectively. However, only the top finisher moved on to the next round.

Into the quarter-final, Paul was favoured to better his rivals but couldn’t seem to find the right gear as he placed sixth and was ousted from achieving a semi-final spot.

Japanese Shinji Nakano topped the field. Also advancing was Frenchman Sebastien Vigier, Malaysian Muhammad Sahrom and Taipei’s Shih Kang.

The TT pair return to the track on Friday for the opening round of men’s sprint competition; flying 200m. Paul is the world record holder (9.1 seconds) in this sprint qualifier event.

On day one, endurance rider Akil Campbell placed 12th in the men’s elimination race.

Lone female representative Alexi Ramirez hits the track on Friday as she begins her quest in the women’s omnium.