Sports
Roneil Walcott
TRINIDAD and Tobago sprint sensation Nicholas Paul narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the men’s keirin event at the 2024 Tissot UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Milton, Canada on April 13, when he placed fourth in a keenly contested final.
Paul, who grabbed gold medals in the keirin and sprint events at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles last weekend, made a strong case for another spot among the medals when he won both his first-round and second-round heats in convincing fashion at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre.
In his second-round heat, Paul utilised his powerful sprinting speed with about two laps to go as he surged ahead of the field to take the top spot – edging Holland’s Harrie Lavreysen and Britain’s Jack Carlin into second and third spots respectively.
In the final, Lavreysen, who won Olympic gold in the individual and team sprint events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, turned up the heat on Paul and the chasing pack as he made a telling push to the front of the pack with a couple of laps to go as he stormed to a resounding win. Lavreysen’s Dutch teammate Jeffrey Hoogland took second spot, while Carlin pipped Paul to the third spot in an exciting finish for the final medal.
In the final, Paul took a different approach to his second-round ride, as he tried to set the pace in the six-man field. However, he just couldn’t match the speed and surge of the 13-time world champion Lavreysen once he made his telling move.
Lavreysen and Hoogland also tasted Nations Cup gold in the team sprint when they edged Britain to the top spot on Friday, and Lavreysen signalled his intentions on claiming a treble of gold medals at this year’s Paris Olympics in the individual and team sprints, as well as the keirin event.
Paul’s Trinidad and Tobago teammate, Kwesi Browne, who cycled to keirin bronze at the Pan Am Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, finished eighth in the keirin and just missed out on the opportunity to contest for a medal in the Nations Cup final.
Also on April 13, Trinidad and Tobago’s endurance rider Akil Campbell finished 19th in a field of 23 cyclists after accumulating a total of 39 points in the men’s omnium. Britain’s Edward Hayter (163 points) took the top spot in the omnium, edging Japan’s Kazushige Kuboki (150 points) and France’s Benjamin Thomas (143 points) into second and third spots respectively.
In Sunday’s morning session, Paul advanced from the men’s sprint qualifying round as the fourth-fastest rider, while Browne recorded the 23rd-best time as he also moved on to the next round.
Lavreysen again showcased his prowess as he clocked a time of 9.378 seconds to top all cyclists in the qualifying round.
The sprint event will conclude in the evening session on April 14.
