T&T cyclist Kwesi Browne has secured a spot at the World Championship following impressive back-to-back performances at the Cycling World Cups in Colombia and Los Angeles in the United States, recently.
On Sunday, he finished a distant 11th in the Keirin event in Los Angeles after he was involved in a crash nearing the end of the race, however his combined performances, in which he was among the finalists in the event in Colombia two weeks ago and his finish at this event, has placed him in the 10th position in the world, according to the UCI.
Yesterday racing secretary at the T&T Cycling Federation Gary Acosta said due to his position in the world at the weekend which completed the amount of cycling World Cups for 2016, he has earned the right to compete at World Championship in Hong Kong in April.
“We are now awaiting official correspondence from the UCI to confirm his place at the World Championship,” Acosta said yesterday.
Browne is the only T&T rider to have taken part at the World Cups to date but Olympic cyclist Njisane Phillips is expected to spring into action at the next World Cup which will take place after the World Championships.
Meanwhile plans are afoot for a grand staging of the Easter International Grand Prix to be held at both the Arima Velodrome and the National Cycling Centre in Balmain, Couva in April.
President of the cycling federation Robert Farrier said he is expecting a bumper event as a competitive international field is expected to challenge our local riders.
“We are targeting top riders who did not qualify for the World Championships to come here and use the event to prepare for coming World Cups as it is a UCI-sanctioned event,” Farrier said.
Invitations for the event have already been sent to cyclists in the United States, Colombia, Canada, Venezuela, Guatemala and all the Caribbean islands including Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Antigua & Barbuda and newcomers to track cycling, St Lucia, who according to Farrier has assembled a strong elite junior sprint team for the grand prix.
The local cycling boss also said his federation will be working closely with the Tourism Development Company (TDC) to promote sports tourism.
This year’s grand prix will take place in two separate categories, according to events and venue. Class one will be held at the cycling centre on April 17, due largely to the state-of-the art facility and the events which will be similar to the types of events staged internationally, while class two will be at the Velodrome on April 14 and 15.
WALTER ALIBEY