Nicholas Paul headlines National Cycling Champs this weekend

Cycling fans are gearing up for another speed-filled weekend at the National Cycling Centre in Couva as Trinidad and Tobago’s elite and Under-23 cyclists square off for the 2023 National Track Cycling Championships.

The three-day event rides off on Friday from 7pm.

On the opening night, men, women and U-23s vie for the national team sprint, scratch and elimination race titles. Expected to feature on the opening night are top cyclists Akil Campbell and Alexi Ramirez, among others.

Recently crowned UCI Nations Cup (Milton, Canada) men’s sprint champion Nicholas Paul (Central Spokes) is in Trinidad for the meet and is certain to vie for top honours in the men’s sprint and keirin events on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

On Saturday, the sprinters hit the track and Paul is a clear favourite for the national crown. Paul (9.1 seconds) is the current world record holder in the first round of men’s sprint qualification – flying 200m – and begins his quest from 4pm.

The last time Paul raced at the National Track Cycling Championships was in March 2020, but that event was cut short owing to the nation’s first wave of covid19 cases.

Olympian Kwesi Browne (Arima Wheelers) and Quincy Alexander (Team DPS) are also expected to line up in the sprint event alongside several of TT’s top speedsters.

The four stages of men, women and U-23 omnium races also get going on day two.

Action pedals off on Sunday from 2pm with the team pursuit. Paul, Browne and other sprinters will later take to the track for the opening rounds of keirin competition.

The time trial, standing 250m and team and individual pursuit events close off this year’s edition of the national championships.

Last weekend, Paul won back-to-back sprint titles at Team DPS’ Speed Paradise and Carnival of Speed events. At the Canada Nations Cup, he also earned his first medal of the year by claiming bronze in the keirin. Paul followed up with sprint gold the next day.

Additionally, this year’s national championships will see cyclists gain valuable points towards their UCI world ranking.