Trinidad and Tobago’s Njisane Phillip took his record-breaking form to the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Argentina yesterday, smashing the track record at Julio Polet Velodrome yesterday in Mar del Plata.
Phillip and senior T&T debutant Quincy Alexander both lined up for the Flying 200 event, yesterday, which qualifies riders for the match sprint.
And Phillip topped the field with a searing 10.377 seconds ride on the 250-metre concrete track, a strong time at a venue that is only 34 metres above sea level. He made it to the quarter-finals last night, where he is expected to medal at the very least.
Phillip’s record ride qualified him to face off with Felipe Penaloza, and the T&T Olympic hopeful blasted past the Chilean to move into the third round. Yesterday evening Phillip also outrode Canada’s Hugo Barrette to make it to the final eight, where he will face one of the repechage qualifiers.
Alexander also qualified with a good showing in the Flying 200, his 10.921s being the 16th best time among the 27 riders, but another Canadian, Joseph Veloce, edged him out in the second round.
The 18-year-old Arimian will next be in action tomorrow for the keirin and kilometre time trial events.
-Kern DeFreitas
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com