While cycling in Europe is taking a break, on the other side of the globe, people continue to pedal. Perhaps this is why... Teniel Campbell shows up a little late for the interview, but it is ultra-justified because another important race awaits him at the end of this month and He doesn't want to miss a single second of training, not even in the training camp in Turin. (top, GettyImages photo).
«I will take part in the Caribbean Championships – he explains – which are also valid for the ranking in view of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which is something I really care about."
A country of sportsmen
Our minds are already on the future, but let's take a few steps back. Teniel is a true cycling pioneer, because is trying to expand the two-wheel movement in the islands of Trinidad & TobagoWhile she clocks up the miles on the road, Nicholas Paul has already made his mark on the track, as demonstrated by last year's silver medal in the Roubaix velodrome (standing kilometer) and this summer's gold medal in the keirin in Birmingham.
Not bad for a nation of just over one million three hundred inhabitants (approximately those of Milan) that we have been able to appreciate in sport thanks to the 100 meters athletics with Ato Boldon (three Olympic medals between Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000) and participation of the national football team in the 2006 World Cup, setting the record for the smallest nation and currently second in terms of population (the record was broken in 2018 by Iceland).
The Roubaix dream
Let's get back in the saddle with Teniel. «This year I've had some ups and downsI felt very fit at the beginning – he says – but I had a bad accident, falling at Ghent-Wevelgem, with several broken teeth and repercussions on my jaw too.It took a lot of dental work to fix everything and I pushed my body to the limit to recover in time for Paris-Roubaix, since it's one of the races I care about the most, but I couldn't manage to be in top form, especially because I couldn't eat solid foods, preferring liquid ones and so I arrived at the end without any energy."
She placed 42nd (last year she finished outside the time limit), but it turned out to be the best of the Bike Exchange and the news bounced all the way to the Caribbean, where any result of the very tall (1,85) twenty-five year old is welcomed with joy. «It was a nice improvement over the first edition in 2021., but next year I want to do better", he reiterates.
No track, only road
The rest of the season did not give any surprises to Teniel, who added: «I tried to be in top form for the Commonwealth Games, but I missed the podium in both the time trial and the road race. Then At the Pan American Games I competed in my first track competition after 2-3 years without competitions of that kind. It was a great experience, but I prefer to concentrate on achieving the double qualification on the road to Paris, both in the time trial and in the road race.I could have done the points race at the last track world championships right in the French capital, but I gave up to focus on this goal».
Games and Tours
The five-ring event is a pleasant obsession for the slender girl from Hardbargin, but not the only one: «The whole world is tuning in for the Olympics in every corner of the globeI think about it a lot – he says – but it's not the only goal I want to achieve. I love the classics and would love to leave my mark on a Monument, like the Roubaix, which I love. Then there's the Tour de France, which is something huge for my people who follow from homeI grew up watching the men's one on TV and even for those who didn't follow cycling, the mere word Tour de France evoked something great».
WorldTour distances
In short, the passion for two wheels runs in his blood, despite being born in a land that usually favors other sports. «It was a real leap into the dark – continues the standard-bearer of the Bike Exchange, the team with which he signed his first World Tour contract at the end of 2020 – because I tried my hand at long distancesI don't regret it and I think I have opened the minds and hearts of the cyclists in our country: now they too will think about longer races and not only on the track because we Caribbeans have an innate talent for sprinting».
Jump to Europe
The real leap, however, was cross the ocean and arrive in the Old Continent: «I think I took part in my first competitions when I was 8 years old, but I only took part in regional competitions. Then in 2018 I arrived in Europe and the world really changed. Different climate, different terrain, incredible atmosphere. Life is a challenge and I believe every human being has his own challenges to face., not only in sports. My world is represented by cycling, which presents me with many obstacles to overcome and Being able to do this helps me grow and be a better person».
Vos Model
His role model? «Marianne Vos, she is amazing and I'm glad I could ask her for some advice."What courses suit you best? "I still have to finish discovering myself, I'm aware of the athlete I can be, and I have an innate love for the classics. I love the cobblestones, I love the cold and I hate the heat, which is quite unusual for an islander like me.I hope to be just as unpredictable in the race too."
The most beautiful memory
So far the frame that brings the most joy to the heart is linked to the third place at the Pan American Games in Mexico in 2019. «It was the last year – he says – that I rode for the UCI team that tries to help young cyclists emerge all over the world. I dropped away from the best group, but I held on and fought my way back., thanks also to the team car that was supporting me. I got back to the starting line with 2,5 kilometers to go, which was also an uphill finish, so the rivals who were competing with me for bronze in that small group assumed I wouldn't give them a hard time. Instead, the mechanic started yelling at me that I was fighting for third place: I don't know where I found the energy, but I sprinted and beat everyone in that little group to put the bronze around my neckIt was awesome and it's one of my fondest memories."
The challenge for 2023? Taniel smiles and admits: «I don't know yet, I haven't looked that far into the future. But I know that many challenges await me." And she is ready to sprint without fear.
