Retired Pan American time trial gold medallist Gene Samuel will return to the arena to compete against cyclists three decades his junior when the highly anticipated Njisane Three-Day Cycling Festival pedals off at the Arima Velodrome, from 6 pm this evening.
Samuel, a four-time Olympian who last competed at Skinner Park over a decade ago, will feature in Team One (to be renamed), captained by the brainchild of the tournament Njisane Phillip, alongside locals Varun Maharaj and Rudy Ashton, Spanish national team rider David Muntaner and Venezuelan star Hersony Canelon, who recently rewrote Phillip's flying 200m record at the Pan American Championship.
Several other Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medallists will be among the top riders to compete.
Action will open today in Arima before switching to Skinner Park, San Fernando, tomorrow and Sunday, when the festival concludes. Nineteen categories of races are scheduled for today, beginning with an international men's ten36-lap event. The winner of the first race can look forward to a cash prize of $1,500.
Five star-studded men's groups and three women's groups, of which management has made an attempt to make as even as possible, will be titled after living and deceased T&T cycling legends. Teams will compete against each other in a competitive, but comradely manner, without officially representing their countries.
Almost every athlete who will be in action this weekend was present at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, where they met and greeted their opponents, some of whom they would have been familiar with from major competitions.
Among them were German Robert Forstemann, a multiple World Championship medallist, Lisandra Guerra, who won all but two events at the recent Easter Grand Prix and Denis Dmitriev, a Russian who is currently the top-ranked sprint cyclist in the world.
Dmitriev, among most others, said they were well received upon their arrival in T&T. "(It's) new for me because I'm a first timer (being) so far from my home," said Dmitriev.
"We were here for a few days, and (there has been) hospitable tourism. I really like your country. The people were very kind (and) you have very beautiful nature."
When asked about being ranked among the best in the world, Dmitriev responded: "Being number one means I worked very hard to get to the podium, and I'm very excited to be (in that position)."
Dmitriev, who will captain a team comprising T&T's Azikiwe Kellar, Spaniard Albert Torres, Australian Alex Bird and Callum Watson of Great Britain, said he expects a strong challenge from the top-ranked competitors.
Phillip Whiteman, Phillip's (Njisane) stepfather and manager said the event is intended to boost sporting tourism in the country and should it be a successful one, it will be an annual one.
TEAMS
Team One (White): Njisane Phillip (capt, T&T), Varun Maharaj (T&T), Rudy Ashton (T&T), David Muntaner (Spa), Hersony Canelon (Ven), Gene Samuel (T&T). Manager- Peter Maharaj.
Team Two: Robert Forstemann (capt, Ger), Joshua Alexander (T&T), Kwesi Browne (T&T), Phillip Clarke (Bar), John Paul (GBR), Fabian Puerta Zapata (Col). Manager- Peter Jacques.
Team Three (Red & Black): Josiah Ng (capt, Mal), Adam Alexander (T&T), Valentin Savitskiy (Rus), Tomas Babek (Cze). Manager- Justin Grace.
Team Four (Black & Red): Denis Dmitriev (capt, Rus), Azikiwe Kellar (T&T), Albert Torres (Spa), Alex Bird (Aus), Callum Watson (GBR). Manager–Alex Sergevv.
Team Five: Maximo Rojas (capt, Ven), Haseem McLean (T&T), Bernard Esterhuizen (ZAF), Adam Ptacnik (Cze), David Sojka (Cze). Manager-Travis Smith.
Women
Team One: Sofia Arreola Navarro (Mex), Katherine Shofield (NZL), Kerliann Wellington (T&T) Lisandra Guerra (Cub), Aziza Browne (T&T), Tamiko Butler (Antigua). Manager- Erika Grace.
Team Two: Olga Streltsova (Rus), Stephanie McKenzie (NZL), Hannah Walker (GBR), Kiana Lester (T&T), Graciela Navarro (Mex). Manager–Stewart McDonald.
Team Three: Elena Brezhneva (Rus), Natasha Hansen (NZL), Denese Francis (T&T), Jodi Goodridge (T&T), Maria Del Mar Bonnin Palou (Spa). Manager–Fitzroy Daniel.