Top local junior cyclists will be out in full gear today when the 2013 National Track Cycling Championship pedals off at the Arima Velodrome from 1 pm
The youngsters will be vying for an unspecified number of coveted places for the upcoming Junior Pan American Cycling Championships, scheduled for July in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
T&T's elite and master track cyclists will also be in action over the course of the six-day event.
Today's scheduled races include the junior and elite omnium events, as well as sprints for all masters categories.
Many riders set to challenge are fresh off a hectic schedule of T&T Cycling Federation-sanctioned events, including the recently concluded Njisane Three-Day Cycling Festival in which top locals faced some of the world's best athletes. With sprint cyclists in world number-one German Robert Forstemann and Venezuela's Hersony Canelon having gone their separate ways after Phillip's event, the T&T cyclists will be seeking to maintain their top form this weekend.
In last year's competition, cycling clubs Team Trek and Southclaine stood out with an unassailable three gold medals, while Madonna Wheelers captured two gold, one silver and four bronze.
Former world number-one ranked junior Quincy Alexander came desperately close to Phillip's 1km time trial record when he broke the 1:07 barrier in 1:06:599 en route to gold then. Varun Maharaj, who recently represented T&T at the seniors' Pan American Cycling Championship in Mexico, also rode to a 5:08:27 finish in the 4km individual pursuit. Jodi Goodridge (junior) and Denese Francis (elite) were some of the top women athletes last year copping the 500m time trials in 39.780 seconds and 42.389 seconds, respectively
Races will run today and tomorrow, before taking a two-day break. Action then resumes on Wednesday and Friday and concludes next weekend.
Final year juveniles (born in 1997) will also be invited to try out for the national team in all timed events.
?