Cherisse Moe

He's a lo­cal cy­cling sen­sa­tion and he's just 19-years-old! Njisane Phillip ex­udes both pas­sion and pro­fes­sion­al­ism for his sport and when­ev­er he hits the tracks, his op­po­nents know that he means busi­ness. The Siparia-born, Mi­a­mi-based cy­clist won his first US Ju­nior Track Na­tion­als at the ten­der age of ten. Since then, he has copped sev­er­al awards, in­clud­ing the sil­ver medal in the Match Sprint and a bronze in the Keirin event at the 2008 Ju­nior Pan Am Games in Ecuador. One year lat­er, he was named Most Out­stand­ing In­ter­na­tion­al Cy­clist at the East­er Grand Prix event. These days, the 6'1 ath­lete is work­ing as­sid­u­ous­ly to qual­i­fy for the 2012 Olympics in Lon­don.

Q: What do you think of when you hear the word Christ­mas?

A: I think about fam­i­ly, be­ing to­geth­er, when I think about Christ­mas. I would not be home for Christ­mas this year, though, be­cause it's in the mid­dle of World Cup sea­son.

How ear­ly do you start your Christ­mas prepa­ra­tions?

I don't re­al­ly start my prepa­ra­tions ear­ly. It starts maybe two weeks be­fore Christ­mas.

Do you have a fam­i­ly Christ­mas tra­di­tion?

I don't have a Christ­mas tra­di­tion...I just re­lax for the hol­i­days.

Have your views on Christ­mas changed from when you were a child?

My views have changed be­cause now I have to ac­cept the fact that I have to give gifts in­stead of get gifts.

Who does the Christ­mas cook­ing in your fam­i­ly?

My moth­er does the Christ­mas cook­ing.

What is your "must have"?Christ­mas dish?

I don't have a must have dish for Christ­mas, but I love steak and fries!

What would be your ide­al 2010 Christ­mas present?

My ide­al Christ­mas present for 2010 would be spend­ing time with my broth­er. That would be spe­cial be­cause I have not seen or heard from him since I was sev­en.

What is your Christ­mas wish for T&T?

My Christ­mas wish for T&T would be peace.