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TRINIDAD and Tobago’s rising sprint cyclist Makaira Wallace will create history when she lines up at the 2025 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Santiago, Chile, from October 22–26 — becoming the first female sprint cyclist from this nation to qualify for the global event.
The JLD Cycling Academy athlete, who also made history as TT’s first female sprint cyclist to compete at a UCI Track World Cup, continues to break barriers in her first year as a senior cyclist.
Wallace will contest the sprint, keirin, and kilo time trial events at the Peñalolén Velodrome, marking a milestone achievement for female sprinters in local cycling.
Joining her on the TT team are ace sprinter and double World Champs silver medallist Nicholas Paul, two-time Olympian and out-of-retirement Njisane Phillip, who is also head coach at JLD, and the endurance sibling-combination of Teniel and Akil Campbell.
Speaking on her qualification, Wallace described the moment as surreal but was elated to achieve what she had initially set out to do this year.
“I’m really excited. I’m a little nervous but that was my goal for this year — to qualify for Worlds. It’s a great feeling that I was able to accomplish that. I’m just going out there to do my best in about a week,” she said.
The young sprinter has been fine-tuning her preparations in Canada for the past couple of months, where she continued an intensive training block following the Pan American Under-23 Games.
On her training regime, Wallace said, “It’s been going really good. We’ve been here in Canada for another training block so I’ve just been preparing. I’m particularly working on my speed — that’s something I was lacking a little bit before, so I’m really excited to see how my speed has improved. I’ve been doing some long efforts, so that’s been helping me a lot.”
Wallace said she is looking forward to testing herself against the sport’s elite riders for the first time.
“This will be my first time seeing everybody at the highest level, so I’m really excited to just be able to experience that highest level of racing at the World Champs,”
Worlds is just another stepping stone for the bright cyclist, since she plans to return to Colombia for another training block after the competition.
Wallace said her mother Cori is one of her biggest supporters and has been “crunching the numbers” in the lead-up to Worlds.
“She’s (mom) really happy. I mean, she’s been doing a lot to see how I’ve been progressing and the qualifications, so she’s really helpful with that and checking the rankings every week.”
Wallace secured her berth through the UCI women elite sprint nation ranking system, finishing among the top 30 sprint nations globally — the cutoff for automatic qualification. Wallace’s exploits has TT ranked at 21.
Joining her in Chile will be JLD coach and multiple Pan American medallist Phillip, who has also qualified to compete, marking a return to the international stage several years after his retirement.
Phillip will also contest the sprint and keirin events, and is currently ranked 22nd on the UCI’s men’s elite sprint ranking. The only other TT cyclist ranked higher is speedster Paul, former flying 200m world record holder.
“I’m excited — it’s going to be my first World Championship back in a while as well,” Phillip said. “I’m excited to go over there and see the competition as well as compete at the highest level again.”
Phillip said Wallace’s qualification represents a major breakthrough for women’s cycling in TT, and he was happy to be part of that process.
“I’m excited for her, as well as just setting the bar for Trinidad cycling for women as well — and just that the boys, the women can do it as well. I’m pleased to be a part of the journey with her,” he said.
He added that Wallace’s achievement shines a light on the untapped potential within the local cycling system.
“It just shows the potential that we have in TT regardless. It’s with proper structure, proper planning, proper support — a lot of things could happen.”
Both Wallace and Phillip extended gratitude to their long-time supporters and sponsors Pharmaco, who have provided racing wheels for the pair towards their Worlds campaign.
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