UCI Track Champions League 2021 - 'The sky's the limit' - Nicholas Paul on the wider impact of his success
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ByEurosport
Updated 02/12/2021 at 07:11 GMT
Nicholas Paul’s burgeoning reputation continues to grow. And he sat down with Orla Chennaoui to chat about inspirations, his love of speed and nerves, and the impact he believes his success is having back in Trinidad and Tobago. The UCI Track Champions League returns for round three on December 3 and you can watch all of the action live on the Eurosport app, eurosport.co.uk and discovery+
‘The sky is the limit!’ – Paul on how he is inspiring the next generation
Nicholas Paul says that he's enjoyed letting the world know just how fast he is as he continues his meteoric rise to the top of track cycling.
Paul set a flying 200m world record at the 2019 Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Bolivia and has since taken gold at the 2021 UCI Nations Cup and a silver at the UCI World Track Championships. He is now competing in the inaugural UCI Track Champions League.
But the Trinidadian's path into cycling was unconventional as he fell in love with the sport while rehabilitating an ankle after a football injury.
"I fell in love with cycling then discovered I had a talent for it," Paul told Orla Chennaoui.
"I like going fast, I like the butterflies before racing. These are the two things that helped me fall in love with it."
And he does go fast - very fast - and Paul says he is now able to tell that riders hold him in greater esteem ahead of races as his reputation continues to grow.
"It's had a big impact, letting the world know that I'm capable of riding fast," he added.
In sprinting you have to let everyone else know how fast you are.
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"Before you even get on the track you can see how your opponent is and how they react to your name, so you have to let them know you’re fast.
"I think I’m becoming a bigger name. I think by sitting next to people and seeing their emotions before the race, that’s how I know."
Asked whether his excellence in the sport has had an impact in Trinidad and Tobago, Paul says:
It is too soon to know, but I think I am motivating people and letting them know that the sky is the limit with everything they do.
Many elite-level cyclists grow up in families familiar with the sport, with homegrown idols or with heroes inspiring them to glory.
But taking a path not often trodden, Paul admits that while he has few heroes in the sport, he watched videos of Chris Hoy and Trinidad's Njisane Phillip to motivate him in his early days.
"I didn't have many heroes," he begins.
I watched a lot of videos about cycling to learn about cycling because I wasn't really into it. After watching the likes of Chris Hoy, Njisane Phillip, and those guys, I got some inspiration.
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The 23-year-old's biggest prize to date came in the 2021 UCI World Track Championships where he took silver in the 1 km time trial.
But the rider is hungry for more medals, more success, and has his eyes set on the Olympics in Paris.
"The silver in the Kilo was a great achievement for me," says Paul. "My first world championship medal. I was really pleased with that and happy with my performance."
I would love to win a medal, that’s my lifelong dream, that’s my goal. You always want to be on the top step but any medal would be greatly appreciated.
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The UCI Track Champions League returns for round three on December 3 and you can watch all of the action live on the Eurosport app, eurosport.co.uk and discovery+. Find out more about the "mind-blowing" new era for track cycling.
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