After missing out on a medal in the team sprint and keirin events, national cyclist Njisane Phillip won silver in the men's sprint event on the final day of competition at the Elite Pan American Cycling Championships in Chile, on Sunday.In the final of the sprint, Phillip faced Colombian Fabian Puerta who on Thursday, won the men's keirin final.
The Colombian wrapped up the double, defeating Phillip 2-0 in the best-of-three sprint final. Phillip finished fourth in the men's keirin, and together with Kwesi Browne and Jude Codrington came fourth in the men's team sprint event.In the men's sprint semifinal, Phillip faced a familiar rival in Canadian Hugo Barrette. The Canadian, Phillip's former training partner, defeated Phillip in the final of the men's sprint at the Pan Am Games in Canada, in July.
Barrette seemed destined for the final after winning the first ride, but Phillip won the next two rides to advance to the final. Browne and Quincy Alexander also represented T&T in the sprint, but did not advance past the first round.With the silver medal, Phillip earned valuable UCI (International Cycling Union) points towards World Cup and Olympic qualification.
The first leg of the Cycling World Cup will pedal off in Cali, Colombia from October 30� November 1, which will be followed by the second leg in Cambridge, New Zealand on December 5 and 6. The third leg will take place on January 16 and 17 next year at a venue to be confirmed. The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from August 5�21.
On Saturday, Aziza Browne and Jodi Goodridge finished fourth in their respective repechage heats for T&T, but did not advance to the semifinals of the keirin.
Varun Maharajh finished seventh overall in the men's omnium, after placing seventh in the 1km time trial, eighth in the flying lap and fourth in the points race. He finished a few points short of the podium. Last night Maharajh and Akil Campbell became the first T&T cyclists to compete in the madison race at an international meet.