Cyclist Nicholas Paul secured the silver medal in the UCI Track Champions League match-sprint at the Panevezys, Cida Arena in Lithuania, yesterday.
For a second time, the T&T quickie failed to get the better of Holland's Harrie Lavreysen in the final, but he made the Dutchman work for his win as the ride came down to a dash to the finish, which Lavreysen won in a photo finish.
Earlier, Paul cruised out of heat four in the opening round, disposing of a challenging field that comprised Tom Derache of France and Germany's Maximilian Levy. And he later overcame a major hurdle in the semifinal round, by defeating Stefan Boetticher, the man who came from a ride down to beat him twice at the Nations Cup semifinals, as well as Russia's Mikhail Yakovlev.
Lavreysen on the other hand got the better of Denis Demetriev of Russia and Santiago Chavarro of Colombia to set up the water-watering final clash with Paul.
Meanwhile, in the keirin event, Paul was booted out in the semifinal round.
The UCI Track Champions League, which features the world's highest-profile cyclists with some 36 men and women riders competing in either sprint or endurance events, will continue next weekend in London, England with Round Three and Four. Round Two carded for St Quentin en Yvelines, France on November 20 was cancelled.
Remaining UCI Track Champions League schedule:
Round 4 & 5: December 3-4 – London, UK
Round 6: December 11 – Tel Aviv, Israel