T&T’s Syndel Samaroo campaign at the Junior World Track Cycling Championships came to an end without a medal after he exited the men’s Sprint at the round-of-16 at the Velódromo Alcides Nieto Patiño in Cali, Colombia on Friday.
Samaroo finished in the 21st position out of 36 riders in the men’s Sprint qualification 200 metres race (3.5 laps) with a time of 10.544 seconds, at an average speed of 68.285 kilometres per hour well off of top qualifier China’s Xie Han, who topped the field in 9.908 seconds.
This meant, Samaroo next faced Kazakhstan’s Rizvan Beisenbayev, who was the 12th best qualifier in 10.289 seconds, at an average speed of 69.977km/h in the last 16 ride off.
But it was not to be for the T&T rider who was beaten by his opponent, who crossed the line in 10.818 seconds.
On Thursday, Samaroo, a recent silver medallist in the men’s sprint and bronze winner in the keirin event at the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) held at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva earlier this month, was second best in his men’s keirin six-laps round one heat three of six in a time of 0.333 seconds behind Kazakhstan’s Ramazan Mukhtar, who won in 10.539.
And with only the winner of each of the six first-round heats advancing automatically, Samaroo was forced to contest the Round Repechage, but had a disappointing fifth-place finish of five riders in heat three, lagging behind the winner Japan’s Ayumu Yamazaki (10.543), in 0.129 seconds.
Today, Makaira Wallace will have her second and final chance at a medal when she faces the starter in the keirin.
Wallace who claimed a silver medal in the women’s keirin and a bronze in the flying 500m at the CYG was 19th best of 27 riders in the women’s sprint flying 200m qualifiers in the 11.776 seconds at an average speed of 61.141 kilometres per hour, and 0.803 seconds off of the top qualifier, Colombian Stefany Cuadradro, who was timed as 10.972 seconds, at an average speed of 65.621 km/h on Thursday.
By placing 19th, Wallace was then pitted against Italian Beatrice Bertolini, who placed 12th in qualifiers in 11.617 at an average speed of 61.978 km/h.
But, with a place in the round-of-16 at stake, Bertoloni won their one-off ride in 12.011 seconds to eliminate the T&T cyclist.
