Sprint ace Nicholas Paul grabbed the gold medal in the men's sprint on the opening day of the UCI-sanctioned Class 1 Speed Paradise at the National Cycling Centre in Balmain, Couva on Thursday.
And with the win, he received much-needed points that would propel him to the UCI World Championships in Chile in October later this year.
Paul, a gold, silver and bronze medallist in the keirin, match-sprint and 1km Time Trial events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, held off Marcus Hiley of Great Britain in the final after an expected winning streak which took him from the flying 200 metres to the final, representing TTO/Central Spokes Cycle Club.
Paul's compatriot Kwesi Browne, who rode in the green colours of the Arima Wheelers, secured the bronze medal in the sprint after beating Canada's James Hedgcock in a battle for third and fourth.
In the elite women's sprint final, Great Britain's Iona Moir got the better of her countrywoman Rhian Edmunds for the gold medal, while riders from the same Lametto Rose Cycle Club in Toronto, Canada, squared off for positions third and fourth. But in the end, Sarah Orban prevailed to take the bronze medal ahead of Erin Watchman.
Browne later returned to the tracks to claim his second bronze medal of the event by finishing third in the final of the men's keirin. Browne crashed out of the men's keirin at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome at the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 10, ending his quarterfinal hopes. He produced a brave display among a strong field in front of home fans and proved good enough for the third-place finish.
Victory went to Hedgcock, who rebounded from a medal-less third and fourth-place ride against Browne in the keirin. He defeated Canadian Nick Wammes in a dash to the finish line with T&T's Darnell James in fourth. Former T&T Olympian Njisane Phillip was sixth.
In the women's keirin final, the trio of Cole Dempster of the KW Cycling Academy in Canada, Brayden Windsor (Juventus Cycling Club of Canada) and Vliet Jacob of the Flying Gorilla Cycling Academy of British Columbia clinched the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Meanwhile, T&T's rising sprint prodigy Kafele Desormeaux (Team DPS) sealed the win and the resulting gold medal in the junior men's sprint national final, which went a distance of three laps.
Desormeaux got the better of Judah Neverson (JLD Cycling Academy) while Zion Lucas of Team DPS was third.
In the Under-23 men's sprint, the Colombian pair of Nicolas Olivera Madrid and Francisco Camacho secured the gold and silver medals, respectively. Jelani Nedd, the country's rising sprint prodigy who shattered the junior sprint record at the National Cycling Centre last year, received some much-needed international experience, as he came home in fourth position in the U-23 men's sprint behind Tyler Rorke of Canada.
