A four-man cycling team led by Njisane Phillip will represent T&T at the first leg of the UCI (International Cycling Union) Cycling World Cup in Cali, Colombia, from October 30-November 1.
The second leg of the World Cup will pedal off in Cambridge, New Zealand on December 5 and 6, while the third and final leg is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on January 16 and 17. This is the first time Hong Kong will host a round of the Cycling World Cup. The World Cup is one of the qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Phillip will compete in the sprint event and will be joined by Kwesi Browne, Justin Roberts and Jude Codrington. Browne will compete in the keirin, while Roberts and Codrington will join Browne in the men’s team sprint.
Browne, Phillip and Codrington were in top form at the UCI sanctioned Keirin Revenge event in Pennsylvania, USA, in August. The trio swept the keirin final with Browne winning gold ahead of Phillip (silver) and Codrington (bronze).
After a difficult 2014, Phillip is seeking another UCI World Cup medal. At the first leg of the 2013/2014 UCI World Cup in England, Phillip became the first T&T cyclist to win a World Cup medal. Phillip finished second in the sprint behind Germany’s Robert Forstemann.
In early 2014, Phillip suffered kidney problems which affected his performances last year. Phillip has been performing at a high level of late. At the Pan American Games in Canada in July, Phillip won silver in the sprint, and followed up with another sprint silver at the Elite Pan American Cycling Championships in Chile, last month.