It was a year of many highs for T&T cycling, as senior and junior cyclists competed with the best in the world, a veteran endurance rider said goodbye, while the Queen’s Park Savannah is now open for use by cyclists.
Following the completion of the Tobago International Cycling Classic in October, veteran national cyclist Emile Abraham announced that he will be retiring.
Abraham, 41, made the announcement at the final prize presentation and farewell lime at the Tobago International Cycling Classic. Abraham’s last outing for the national team was the Caribbean Road Championships in Barbados on October 17 and 18.
One of Abraham’s proudest moments came in 2007, when he won a silver medal in the men’s individual road race at the Pan American Games in Brazil. Following the announcement president of the T&T Cycling Federation Robert Farrier, who described Abraham’s career as outstanding, said he would like to utilise Abraham’s expertise.
Farrier said: “I like to see people of his stature give back to the sport. He has the knowledge to give back, he can put his knowledge to use.” Former top national cyclist Gene Samuel said Abraham’s retirement did not come as a surprise. Samuel said: “It does not come as a surprise, he has been easing up for the last two years. All good things come to an end. He is our best road rider currently.”
Savannah cycling lane opens
History was created on March 1, 2015 when a cycling lane was open around the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain. The cycling lane was opened following a meeting between Government ministers and members of the cycling fraternity including former national cyclists Roger Gibbon and Samuel.
It was decided that cyclists will be allowed to use the inside lane (closest lane to the Savannah) of the Savannah at specific times. Cyclists can utilise the lane between 4 am and 6 am and between 8 pm and 9.30 pm on weekdays. On holidays and weekends, riders would be allowed to use the lane between 6 am and 9 am.
Phillip on Olympic brink
After suffering kidney problems in early 2014, which saw him struggle to regain his form throughout the year, Phillip had a promising 2015 and he is now almost guaranteed a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.
In early December at the second leg of the UCI (International Cycling Union) 2015/2016 World Cup Series in New Zealand, Phillip finished sixth overall in the sprint and now has one foot in the Rio Olympics. He also raced to the number one spot in the Americas Zone.
In July, Phillip won silver in the men’s sprint event at the Pan American Games in Canada, before grabbing another men’s sprint silver at the Elite Pan American Cycling Championships in Chile in September.
Some of the other senior cyclists who had top performances during the year were Jude Codrington, Keron Bramble, Kwesi Browne, Varun Maharajh, Akil Campbell, Gavyn Nero, Barry Luces, Jovian Gomez, James Hadeed, Quincy Alexander, Justin Roberts, Aziza Browne and Jodi Goodridge.
Junior cyclists show promise
The young cyclists in T&T continued to showcase their talent which included sprint cycling, endurance cycling and mountain biking.
Peter Sellier created history for T&T in mountain biking. In September, Sellier became the first T&T cyclist to win a medal for T&T at the Caribbean Mountain Bike Championships in Puerto Rico when he copped gold in the pre-junior (15-16) category.
Sellier also dominated the local mountain bike races, ending the year unbeaten while competing in the elite men’s category.
On the track, Kollyn St George led the charge at the Junior Pan American Cycling Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico in April. St George was the standout cyclist guiding T&T to two gold medals and two bronze medals. St George won gold in the women’s 500m time trial and gold in the women’s team sprint event with Keiana Lester. T&T also walked away with two new Pan American records, eight national records and 14 personal bests in the high altitude city.
The junior road cyclists were not to be outdone. In August at the Junior Caribbean Road Cycling Championships in Dominican Republic, Tyler Cole and Teniel Campbell both snatched gold in the individual time trial.
Cole captured the juvenile men’s individual time trial, while Campbell took gold in the junior women’s individual time trial. The pair also won gold in their respective road races. Some of the other junior cyclists who had a successful year were Sei Daniel, Ramon Belmontes and Jabari Whiteman.
