Trinidad and Tobago trio pedal to Pan Am team sprint gold

Trinidad and Tobago began their 2025 Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships campaign with a golden finish in the men’s team sprint event on day one at the National Olympic Velodrome in Asunción, Paraguay, on April 2.

The speed-filled trio of Nicholas Paul, Njisane Phillip and Ryan D’Abreau were ruthless throughout the rounds and held their own to conquer the best riders from the region.

TT defeated silver medallists Colombia in the final while Mexico earned bronze by bettering hosts Paraguay in the third-place ride.

The TT trio qualified second fastest with a clocking of 44.087 seconds in the qualifying round, trailing leaders Colombia, who stopped the clock on 44.076s. Canada (44.719s) rounded off the top three fastest qualifiers.

Riding out of heat three in round one, TT cruised past Brazil by almost two seconds. Their time was stopped at 43.394s while Brazil were 44.736s.

Against Paraguay in the semis, TT made no mistake on the track and sealed their spot in the gold medal ride with an easy win.

Despite Colombia’s dominance in the opening round, the South Americans were no match for TT in the final, which saw the Paul, Phillip and D’Abreau combination pedal to gold.

On April 3, the region’s most accomplished sprint cyclist Nicholas Paul begins defence of his men’s keirin crown for a third consecutive year when he lines up in the qualifying round.

Representing the red, white and black alongside him will be two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip and young speedster Ryan D’Abreau.

Additionally, rising women’s sprint sensation Makaira Wallace makes her competitive debut at the elite level when she takes on the first round of sprint qualifying — flying 200m.

Later on, endurance rider Akil Campbell takes on the men’s scratch race.