National endurance riders, Varun Maharajh and Akil Campbell, concluded Trinidad and Tobago’s 2015 Elite Pan American Cycling Championship campaign with a fifth place finish in the Madison event as the curtains fell at the Parque Penalolen Velodrome in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday night.
Both Maharajh and Campbell were debutants at this year’s regional meet and together closed off TT ’s account with a commendable showing.
The returning 17-member cycling contingent is expected to arrive at the Piarco International Airport today after five days of tough competition.
Olympic rider, Njisane Phillip, was the only local athlete to medal at this year’s Championships as he captured silver in the Men Sprint event on the final day of competition.
International Cycling Union (UCI) points attained here will now significantly assist Phillip towards his World Cup and World Championship qualification.
Meanwhile, Maharajh’s seventh place finish in the Men’s Omnium event has opened up a possibility of TT being represented at a World Cup by an endurance cyclist for the first time in this nation’s history.
However, confirmation of a spot for TT at the coming three World Cups will only be made public when the sport’s governing body (UCI) releases their official point standings on September 15.
The World Cups will be held in Cali, Colombia (November 10-11), Cambridge, New Zealand (December 5-6) and Hong Kong, China (January 16-17, 2016).
Phillip was also just short of a medal in the Keirin when he was pipped on the line into fourth position. But, the 24-year-old sprinter was still able to gain valuable UCI points.
The Male Team Sprint fell just nine hundredths of a second from earning TT ’s first Team Sprint medal since 2010. The trio of Jude Codrington, Kwesi Browne and Phillip qualified third fastest to meet Brasil in the bronze medal rideoff but were unable to step onto the podium.
TT also featured several debutants at the Championships inclusive of the Campbell siblings Akil and Teniel, Aziza Browne, Jodi Goodridge and Gavyn Nero. The Campbells displayed good endurance to finish within the top 10 in their respective events with Teniel setting a new National Record in the 3km Individual Pursuit for women.
Maharajh last push in the Omnium VI – Points Race saw him falling a mere 10 points from a medal position.
Following their recent performances, the Trinidad & Tobago Cycling Federation sees this event as a dual pathway to Rio2016 Olympic qualification, and for TT ’s top tier male sprint cyclists to build a solid foundation towards their drive to Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
This was the first time that TT took part in the Team Pursuit at Elite Pan Am Championships where they shattered the previous National Record by 15 seconds. Though this may not have placed them into a medal position, the experience gained and the quality of Junior endurance cyclists within TT ’s ranks raises hopes of a potential Team Pursuit qualification for the XXXII Olympiad in Japan.