Nicholas Paul edged out World sprint medal

ACE Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul missed out on a Tissot UCI Track World Championships men’s sprint medal after finishing fourth in Ballerup, Denmark, on October 20.

After advancing to the semi-final round the day before, Paul lined up against Paris Olympic team sprint gold medallist Dutchman Jeffrey Hoogland. Paul sensationally won the opening ride, but Hoogland bettered him on the second to force a deciding third race, for a spot in the final.

However, Hoogland came up trumps on the third ride and pushed Paul into the fight for bronze.

In the other semi-final, Paris triple Olympic gold medallist Harrie Lavreysen lined up against Japanese sprinter Kaiya Ota. Lavreysen made light work of his opponent and defeated Ota in straight rides, to set up an all-Dutch final.

Against Ota in the bronze medal race, Paul was unable to execute his ride to perfection and the Japanese bettered him in both races to snatch a podium spot.

In the gold medal race, the in-form Lavreysen eased to victory over his compatriot Hoogland in two straight rides to win gold.

The sprint event brought an end to Paul's campaign, after missing out in the keirin on October 18.

Another TT cyclist, Akil Campbell, had a tough time in the four-stage men’s omnium on October 19. He was 24th in the scratch race, 22nd in the tempo race, 16th in the elimination and 22nd in the points race.

And in his final event on October 20, Campbell placed 16th in the elimination race.