Trinidad and Tobago’s ace cyclist Nicholas Paul knows that nothing good—especially a gold medal—comes easy.
That’s why he’s putting in the work with his sights firmly set on two major events in 2025—the Pan American Track Cycling Championships, scheduled for April 1-6 in Paraguay, and the October 22-26 World Track Cycling Championships in Chile.
Despite being Trinidad and Tobago’s most accomplished cyclist at the World Track Cycling Championships, with two silver medals to his name, Paul remains hungry for more.
“It (winning World Champs gold) is one of my biggest dreams. Every year I have to keep putting in the hard work and go out there and try to achieve it. Nothing good comes easily. You have to put in the work to achieve what you want. I hope to achieve success at Worlds and the Olympics—whenever it comes. I’ve been chasing it, and I have to keep at it,” Paul said from his base in Switzerland.
The Gasparillo native holds the distinction of being the only Twin Island Republic cyclist to win multiple World Champs medals, having surpassed legends Roger Gibbon and Gene “Geronimo” Samuel in the history books.
But for Paul, a World Championships win would give him the honour of wearing the prestigious rainbow jersey, which signifies a world champion, in competition for an entire year.
“Worlds is one of the biggest events after the Olympic Games. I always want to go out there and put my best foot forward. I’m still chasing the World Championships stripes. I want to be able to wear the rainbow jersey, so that’s one of my goals always. When I go out there every year, it’s to try to win that jersey. It’s always my main goal,” he declared.
Still, Paul, who currently occupies fifth position on the UCI’s elite men’s sprint rankings, knows that winning a world title is easier said than done.
This as Dutch sprint king and five-time Olympic gold medalist Harrie Lavreysen holds the number one position with Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk, Israel’s Mikhail Yakovlev, and Colombia’s Cristian Ortega Fontalvo—all formidable opponents—also ahead of him.
However, Paul, 26, remains confident in his ability to compete with the best.
“There are a lot of countries who are really strong in the sprints—the Dutch, French, and English riders are all great cyclists. But at the same time, I think I have developed myself to be one of the top cyclists as well, so it’s just about going out there and executing good racing,” he admitted.
“On any given day, you could face any rider, so you have to be ready for whoever is placed in front of you. That’s why it’s important to be as fast and as tactical as possible,” he added.
That said, Paul expressed pleasure with how things are shaping up as he hits high gear in his preparation in a high-performance environment with renowned coach Craig MacLean.
As such, he has opted to forgo the March 14-16 UCI Nations Cup in Turkey to fully focus on the PanAm Championships, where he is targeting the defence of his elite men’s sprint and keirin titles for the third consecutive year, before turning his attention to the World Champs.
“Work has been going great. Craig is one of the top coaches, and it’s great to work with him at the UCI Cycling Centre. The facilities and programs there are excellent, so being in an environment where I can focus 100 percent on cycling is just great,” Paul ended.