Njisane Phillip was named Most Outstanding Cyclist for the 2013 season, but it was Jovian Gomez who lifted the President’s Trophy at the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation’s National Championship Awards, on Saturday night at Hasely Crawford Stadium’s VIP Lounge.
Gomez picked up the coveted award after snatching the Elite Men category following a breakthrough season in endurance events.
The highlight for the Team DPS rider was omnium gold at the National Championships, while he and teammates Quincy Alexander and Haseem McLean all competed in international events.
The Elite Women winner was Kerliann Wellington of Bike Smith.
Phillip, meanwhile, would always have been a shoo-in for the “Most Outstanding” accolade. He followed up a 2012 season as T&T’s best sprinter—where he narrowly missed sprint bronze at the London Olympics—with a number of top performances.
The best for the Siparia-born rider was Manchester World Cup sprint silver, after he spent the first half of the year in T&T for some relaxation, and also raced in a number of events locally, including the Easter Grand Prix, “Nationals”, and the inaugural Njisane Three-Day Cycling Festival.
The latter event proved very successful, with world class international male and female cyclists competing against T&T’s best riders.
Top Junior Justin Roberts—who signs on as a senior for 2014—and Juvenile Keiana Lester were also recognised on Saturday for their strong performances.
Roberts dominated all local sprint events, was runaway winner at Nationals, and also picked up Pan American dual silver en route to the World Junior Championships, before finishing ranked sixth in the world in the kilometre time trial event.
Lester was perhaps most impressive of all. Her times matched and, in some areas, surpassed the local senior women, and she broke several national records, before snaring T&T’s first women’s regional junior Caribbean road title.
The other youth category winners were Tinymites Tyler Cole (boys) and Jhordan St George (girls), and Kristoff Frontin (Juvenile Men).
Also at the function, a number of coaches were presented with Level II certificates, including top TTCF officials, president Rowena Williams and vice president Gregory D’Andrade.
For the feature address, Anthony Creed of SPORTT (Sport Company of T&T) gave a sobering delivery in telling the cyclists and coaches that their ambitions need to go beyond physical performances to the “education” aspects of the sport, which he felt will go a long way in lifting the levels of T&T cyclists.
In her greeting, Williams stated that the TTCF is aiming to “improve on our administrative skills and capabilities” to assist cyclists in meeting their “goals and objectives”. She congratulated the mountain biking branch of cycling on its first year in the National Championship set up, and promised to help that discipline develop further.
But the unexpected moment came at the end of the function when former T&T star cyclist Gene “Geronimo” Samuel—one of the country’s most successful riders—was asked to move the vote of thanks.
In a candid soliloquy, Samuel both lauded and knocked several parties in cycling in calling for unity. He described the TTCF as “not perfect”, but praised Williams for her leadership, saying she always follows the Federation’s constitution, even when things are not in her favour.
He credited her with a financial turnaround of cycling even with a dwindling budget, saying that although he was not part of the Federation, it made it easier for him to support the TTCF.
Samuel also said that certificates don’t make coaches, and told coaches that they need to seek advice from those who have top level cycling experience as well, saying he did not just become a coach by being a rider or passing a coaching course.
HONOUR ROLL
Most Outstanding
Cyclist—Njisane Phillip
President’s Trophy—Jovian Gomez
Category Winners
Elite Men—Jovian Gomez
Elite Women—Kerliann Wellington
Junior Men—Justin Roberts
Junior Women—Cheyenne Awai
Juvenile Men—Kristoff Frontin
Juvenile Women—Keiana Lester
Tinymites (boys)—Tyler Cole
Tinymites (girls)—Jhordan St George
Masters 40-44—Cecil Hackett
Masters 45-49—Roger Smart
Masters 50-54—Joel Browne
Masters 55-59—Clyde Pollonais
Masters 60-64—Peter Hernandez
Masters 65 & Over—Pat Nelson
Youth Development
Under 13 Boys—D’Angelo Harris
Under 13 Girls—Adrianna Seyjagat
Under 11 Boys—Ryan D’Abreau
Under 11 Girls—Sylese Christian
Under 9 Boys—Jesse Hender
Under 9 Girls—Alexia Wilson
Under 7 Boys—Gabriel Fortune