Cycling head coach Dagorne challenges Hong Kong Olympic hopeful Ceci Lee to handle ‘stress’ of major home event
- Lee is city’s big hope at the UCI Track Nations Cup, which begins on Friday, competing in the omnium and in the Madison with Leung Wing-yee
- The three-day event will feature some of the world’s best cyclists, eager to battle for the Paris Olympics qualification points on offer
Head coach Herve Dagorne has backed star Hong Kong rider Ceci Lee Sze-wing to manage the stress of competing at the UCI Track Nations Cup this week.
The stakes are high for Lee at her home velodrome in Tseung Kwan O, with a generous bounty of Olympic qualification points on offer. The 22-year-old has targeted Paris Games spots in both the omnium and Madison events.
Lee claimed Madison bronze at last month’s Asian championships in India, where she rode with Leung Bo-yee, but the pair from Uzbekistan, who are hot on the heels of Hong Kong in the Olympic chase, nabbed silver.
Still, Lee is Hong Kong’s big hope for the Nations Cup, which begins on Friday. On Saturday night she will partner Leung Wing-yee and on Sunday will ride in the omnium.
While she returned from New Delhi with two silver and two bronze medals, Dagorne was heartened by more than her performance on the track, detecting encouraging signs in an athlete he said previously “arrived at international competitions … not sure how to adapt a strategy”.
“She was not satisfied with her silvers and bronzes, but I was really pleased with her technical and tactical progress,” Dagorne said. “Also, she showed good progress in the management of the stress we need to compete at the highest level, and of the environment around her.
