T&T cyclists Akil Campbell and Alexi Costa-Ramirez struggled on the opening day of competition when the UCI Track Nations Cup in Konya, Turkey, on Friday.
Endurance cyclist Campbell was seventh in his Men's Elimination Race heat one qualifier to finish behind Denmark's Noah Wulff, Austrian Tim Wafler, Czech Republic's Jacob Decar Zunga, Belgium's Jules Hesters and Spain's Mario Anguela Yaguez. But in the final Campbell placed 20th of 24 finalists.
In the Women's Elimination Race qualifying heat two, Costa-Ramirez was a creditable sixth to trail Norway's Anita Tvonne Stenberg, Japan's Mizuki Ikeda, Germany's Lea Lin Teutenberg, Czech Republic's Gabriela Bartova and France's Violette Demay.
However, in the final, Costa-Ramirez could only muster a 22nd spot finish among the 23 riders.
"Today, was a great start to the weekend for me. This is the highest level of racing there is on the track, and to be able to qualify sixth and make it into the finals was a great achievement for me," said Costa-Ramirez after her event.
"Sadly in the finals some error in positioning costed me and I ended 22nd. Regardless still a very good learning experience and I will take this with me and grow for the next race. I have grown as a rider a lot since the last nations cup I rode in 2023 and to now be able to be competitive within the field shows that I deserve to be where I am today, fighting with the best riders in the world.
"My first main goal to start the Omnium on Sunday will be to race the 40-lap qualifying points race. Once I get into the final, I will take one race at a time and work as hard as possible on finishing the four-race event with the best position possible.
"It's been a lot of hard work to get to where I am to be able to compete at this level and I have really great hopes that I will be able to qualify for this year's world championships in October.
Today, World Junior Track medallist Makaira Wallace, ranked 47th in the world among women will compete in the Women's Sprint qualifying round while Campbell faces the starter in heat two of the Men's Omnium while two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip and Zion Pulido make their debut in the Men's Keirin in heat three and one, respectively.
Top local cyclist Nicholas Paul opted out of the Nations Cup to focus his preparations on the Elite Pan Am Track Cycling Championships in Paraguay from April 1- 6.