The hunt for UCI points for a World Championships berth starts Thursday at 5 pm when the UCI-sanctioned Class 1 Speed Paradise pedals off at the National Cycling Centre in Balmain, Couva.
The event gets going with the quarterfinals of the Junior/Under-23 Women's sprint as well as the quarterfinals of the Elite Women's sprint, where sprint sensation Makaira Wallace will feature, having told the media she wants to be the first T&T female rider to qualify for the World Championships.
Wallace, who told the media she is acquainted with most, if not all, her competitors after last year's Junior Worlds, said she is planning to deliver a sub-11 performance with the hope of at least mounting the podium once. Her personal best time has been 10.7 seconds under altitude conditions, but at home, she has struggled to deliver a sub-11 performance.
The elite men's sprint will also be featured today with some of the world's fastest riders, inclusive of T&T's Nicholas Paul, who in September 2021, participated in the UCI Track Nations Cycling Cup, and came away with triple Golds in the Kilo Time Trial, Keirin & Sprints, as well as Canadian Nick Wammes and other international sprinters, as well as T&T's Njisane Phillip, a four-time Olympian, and Kwesi Browne.
Phillip, who returned to competitive cycling last year, told the media he is hoping to produce a 10.8 performance in the sprints, and will relish the opportunity to square off with his T&T sprint ace Paul, who is regarded as one of the best sprinters in the world. "If I can get ahead of him in the sprints," Phillip said.
He also called for his local riders to join forces to get the better of the international contingent in front of home fans. Cyclists from 14 countries are here for the event, including a full Colombian team of more than 10 cyclists who all touched down on local soil on Tuesday.
Event organiser Robert Farrier said the event will also provide the country with an avenue to rope in valuable revenue through sports tourism, saying at the launch that cyclists will be here in their droves with family and supporters.
Entry for the event is $80 today and $200 for the duration of the entire Speed Paradise and Carnival of Speed event, which will take place soon after.
