Three Trinidad and Tobago cyclists have already qualified for the 2013/14 UCI (International Cycling Union) World Cup season, over five events in all.
Njisane Phillip has sealed his place in the sprint and keirin events. Phillip’s training partner Varun Maharajh is also on that list, as is locally-based professional Team DPS rider Quincy Alexander. Maharajh will compete in the omnium and scratch events, while Alexander qualified for the kilometre time trial.
Alexander’s uncle and manager, Robert Farrier is pleased with the progress the 19-year-old has made since becoming a senior rider last year, but is hopeful he will qualify for the sprints as well.
“We started this whole process last year in qualifying for World Championships,” Farrier told the Express yesterday. “Our main aim is the 2016 Olympics. He did qualify for a non-Olympic event but he is close in terms of points to qualify, so hopefully for the next Grand Prix he will be able to qualify (in the sprints).”
Farrier, a former T&T Cycling Federation president, said that Alexander’s progress is being monitored very closely.
“He did three events for the year, whereas other guys did eight,” he said. “So in terms of that, he’s well up there to be one of the top 40 to qualify for the World Cup. This kid is 19 years old, and the whole staff around him and Team DPS are being careful how we handle him and his events.”
And Farrier noted that the team has been raising their own funds to go to competitions, which he said is “very expensive”. The teenager’s performances are more impressive, he said, given the constraints they have faced.
“Quincy at 18 was Pan Am elite champion, so we know he transitioned very quickly to that level by winning gold in his first elite level (event). I’m not sure he got enough recognition for that with the amount of resources put in it,” he said.