A tragic fatal accident during the opening night of Trinidad’s annual Easter International Cycling Grand Prix has sparked urgent questions about the safety and suitability of Skinner Park’s cycling velodrome for competitive racing. The incident claimed the life of Colin Wilson, a 40-49 age category Masters competitor and member of The Braves cycling club, who passed away at San Fernando General Hospital following a crash during the six-lap race.
According to initial reports, Wilson swerved mid-race to avoid a collision with another cyclist, before making contact with the venue’s perimeter fencing. The impact left him with critical neck trauma and severe hemorrhage, and racing was immediately suspended as emergency medical teams rushed him to care. The event was broadcast live to online audiences, and clips of the crash have since spread widely across social media platforms, drawing criticism from local officials for the lack of sensitivity toward Wilson’s family.
Desmond Roberts, a former vice president of racing for the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation and a longstanding figure in the local cycling community, was on-site the night of the crash. Though he did not directly witness the impact, he was among the first to arrive to provide aid to Wilson. Roberts, who is the godfather to one of Wilson’s two sons, described the scene as devastating, noting Wilson was unresponsive with extensive blood loss upon his arrival.
“ I turned around and I walked over and there was blood on the track and all over him. I sat next to him and I said stay with me, and he was unresponsive, and I said to myself, he is going,” Roberts recalled in an interview with the *Sunday Express*. The tragedy has left the tight-knit local cycling community reeling, he added, and he extended his deepest condolences to Wilson’s widow and entire family.
While Roberts could not confirm the root cause of the crash without witnessing it, he has long raised formal concerns about the design of the Skinner Park velodrome, one of only four active competitive cycling tracks across Trinidad. The venue joins existing tracks in Arima and Couva, as well as a new facility currently under construction in Palo Seco.
Roberts explained that the extreme banking angle of Skinner Park’s track far exceeds international safety and design recommendations for competitive racing. Currently, the track’s banking measures 47 degrees, while the globally recommended standard for competitive velodromes is just 32 degrees. “It is like a hill. You are going around in circles and your body will be at an angle. If the track is flat, you can slide. The banking is to keep you from drifting too much to the right or the top. In Skinner Park it is not at the recommended angle,” he said.
Years ago, during the track’s development, Roberts was consulted as an industry expert and flagged the improper banking to the project’s management team. After his feedback, organizers made a minor adjustment to the angle, but it still remains far steeper than the recommended standard. Proper banking is critical for giving riders control of their bikes while navigating corners, especially final turns, where fatigue can impact control, Roberts noted.
“I do not believe the track was designed for high-level racing. Some people may or may not agree… The first time I raced on that track was December last year and I made a promise early in my career that I am not going to race on that track. Local cyclists, I do not know about international cyclists, but locals are sceptical of the track. Some can handle the track, some cannot,” he added.
In response to the tragedy, San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris confirmed that local authorities are following official investigation protocols to determine the cause of the crash. Parris told the *Sunday Express* that he and local council members traveled to Skinner Park immediately after being notified of the incident Friday night. The city has extended formal condolences to Wilson’s family and declined to comment further on the death while an official investigation is ongoing.
Parris confirmed that the San Fernando City Corporation’s health and safety officer is preparing full reports for both municipal leadership and the national Occupational Safety and Health Agency, as required by official protocol. The mayor also spoke out against the widespread sharing of crash footage on social media, urging local residents to respect the privacy and grief of Wilson’s family, noting the content was shared against the likely wishes of his loved ones during Holy Week.
“I could not watch it. I passed it. It hurts me because the gentleman has a family. I know it was live-streamed but we need to be more sensitive and respect the family. That might not be something the family wants to see and be spread. We have become so desensitised to things. This is the Holy Week and I do not think that the family would want to see that,” Parris said.