Cyclist Akil Campbell chasing Paris dream

Trinidad and Tobago's endurance cyclist Akil Campbell is eagerly anticipating 2024.

The 27-year-old road racer remains in hot pursuit of a historic Olympic debut in Paris and must deliver three of his best performances, over the next four months, to seal a coveted place at the Games.

Campbell’s dream to qualify for the Olympics depends on his results at the Tissot International Cycling Union (UCI) Nations Cups in Adelaide, Australia (February 2-4), Hong Kong, China (March 15-17) and Milton, Canada (April 12-14).

Prior to the Canada leg, Campbell is likely to compete at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in California, US (April 3-7), as a pre-cursor to the final Nations Cup leg.

The Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11.

At the last edition, in Tokyo, Japan, Campbell’s older sister Teniel, a European-based women’s pro road cyclist, became the first Caribbean female to qualify for the Summer Games in road cycling.

Campbell said, “My goal remains the same, to qualify for the Olympics in Paris. My year was a bit up and down with crashes and some fair results. It was a decent year for me even though I could have had some better results.”

Campbell’s highlight this year was a men’s omnium bronze at the Pan Am Track Cycling Championships in Argentina, in June. He was also golden in this same event at the Speed of Paradise, a UCI Class II event, held in Trinidad, in April.

At the Pan Am Games in October, in Chile, Campbell also suffered a nasty fall during the tempo race. However, he closed off the year by capturing the TT Cycling Federation’s (TTCF) President’s Cup and elite men awards.

The Campbell siblings recently returned home from a three-week training camp in Colombia.

“The camp was basically to put emphasis on fitness and strength work for next year. It went pretty well thanks to those involved: Colombia and some of my sister’s team (Team Jayco-AIUla) sponsors that were able to help us out with some stuff as well. Overall, it was a successful camp,” he said.

The Campbells followed their own training regimen and focused a lot on building strength.

In January, the siblings head to Spain to train under New Zealand cycling coach Greg Henderson, a former pro cyclist.

Work has not, and will not stop, Campbell said.

“We even training on Christmas Day. I know what I want to achieve for myself in the coming months and it will be no easy task – but I’m up for it.”