LONDON — Some days were lonelier than others for Njisane Nicholas Phillip.
The
only track cyclist from Trinidad and Tobago, a tiny island nation with
little cycling tradition to speak of, would be at some World Cup race in
some far-flung corner of the world. He would see teams such as Britain
and France, and the camaraderie they shared, and long for a piece of it.
“I
really love the sport. I really want to be good,” the 21-year-old
Phillip said. “I want to be recognized by the Australians and British
fans.”
He’s certainly managed that this week.
With daring,
come-from-behind victories and an ever-present smile, Phillip has
advanced to Monday night’s semifinals in the individual sprint, the
marquee event of the track cycling program.
He rallied to beat New
Zealand’s Edward Dawkins in the round of 16 on Saturday, and then
managed to hold off Germany’s Robert Forstemann despite being forced
into the lead early.
Phillip swept past Russia’s Denis Dmitriev in the best-of-three quarterfinals on Sunday.
Now, even though he doesn’t have a team, he hardly feels alone.
“I feel like a VIP,” Phillip said, “getting this love from this crowd at the Olympics.”
The road to London hasn’t been an easy one.
Phillip
has received only modest support from Trinidad and Tobago, which tends
to focus more on track and field — and cricket — than a sport with two
wheels. Without the support of his father, who is in the construction
business back home, the talented young rider wouldn’t have proper
equipment or the opportunity to fly all over the world for elite races.
Recently,
Phillip has been training in the United States with Jamie Staff, the
former Olympic gold medalist for Britain who is trying to rebuild USA
Cycling’s sprint program.
There is an agreement in place between
Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. Olympic Committee, Staff said, that
allows him to spend some of his time working with Phillip.
“He’s a very, very talented kid, just raw talent,” Staff said. “The tactics just come naturally.”
Not so much the training.
“He’s a racer,” Staff said with a smile. “I know what he’s capable of and some days in training I’ll be like, ‘What was that?!'”
He’ll be on center stage in the arena Monday.
Phillip
will be paired against Jason Kenny in the best-of-three semifinals. The
former world champion from Britain has roared his way through the
field, never getting challenged by Malaysia’s Azizulhasni Awang in his
quarterfinal match races on Sunday.
“I’ve already made it here,” Phillip said, “so I’m happy with that.”
Also
advancing to the semifinals was world champion Gregory Bauge of France.
He’ll face Shane Perkins of Australia, who beat American rider Jimmy
Watkins in the quarterfinals.
“I’m feeling good. I’m ready for the
semifinals,” Bauge said. “I’m a bit behind compared to the British
athlete as he has the public behind him, but we will see tomorrow.”
Lasse
Norman Hansen of Denmark briefly halted Britain’s dominance of the
velodrome Sunday with his victory in the multidiscipline omnium. He
finished second in the 1-kilometer time trial to break a tie with
Italy’s Elia Viviani and France’s Bryan Coquard heading into the last
event.
Coquard held on for silver and Britain’s Edward Clancy rallied for bronze.
“The
point was to go out and kill myself, just do whatever was needed to get
the gold medal,” Hansen said, “and I did. I cannot say anything except
that I am extremely happy and it feels unreal.”
Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares also looked strong in their return to the track.
Pendleton,
who won gold for Britain in the keirin, qualified first in the women’s
sprint, and then ripped through her first two match races. Meares, her
longtime rival from Australia, qualified just behind her and also had no
trouble advancing through the bracket.
They will be joined in
Monday’s quarterfinals by China’s Guo Shuang, Kristina Vogel of Germany,
Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania, Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez of Cuba,
Lyubov Shulikov of the Ukraine and Olga Panarina of Belarus.
“The
pressure is going to increase the closer you come to the final,” said
Vogel, who teamed with Miriam Welte to win gold in the team sprint. “If I
win tomorrow, I’ll be in the semis and that’s a very important race,
because that race decides whether I’m sure of a medal.”
