Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul will be riding for gold in the men's sprint event at the International Cycling Union Track Nations Cup in Milton, Canada from 6 pm on Sunday.

In the semi-finals, Paul defeated Australian rider Matthew Richardson in consecutive impressive rides. In the first race, Paul made his move from behind and Richardson did not have the legs to catch him. In race two, Richardson made an early move but he could not hang on as Paul passed him on the final stretch to seal a place in the final against Poland's Mateusz Rudyk.

Paul delivered a blistering performance in the qualifying phase with the fastest time among the 37 starters.

He clocked 9.575 seconds and was one of four riders to earn a first round bye (1/16 final) and advance straight to the second round (1/8 final). TT cyclist Kwesi Browne finished 24th in 9.980 and was one of 24 cyclists to progress to the 1/16 finals.

Browne was eliminated in the 1/16 finals as he lost to Chinese cyclist Yu Zhou in heat five.

In the 1/8 final, Paul booked a place in the quarter-finals with a victory over Italian Mattia Predomo in heat one and later sealed a spot in the semi-finals with a win over Zhou.

Paul won the first two races in heat one against Zhou to progress to the final four.

In heat two, Muhammad Sahrom of Malaysia defeated Canadian Nick Wammes to qualify for the semi-finals. In heat three, Rudyk defeated Qi Liu of China. Richardson got past German Maximilian Dornbach in the quarterfinal. All the quarter-final winners won in two consecutive rides.

On Saturday, Paul earned bronze in the men's keirin event.

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