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Sarah Lee Wai-sze’s Asian Games status up in the air, as Hong Kong cycling team target track World Championships

  • Double Olympic bronze medallist still with team after celebrating 35th birthday, but Hangzhou plans on hold until ‘there is a clearer idea of new dates’
  • Hong Kong team to take part in a series of international events in preparation for Paris showpiece in October

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Sarah Lee with her two gold medals at the 2019 track World Championships. The 35-year-old is preparing the 2022 Worlds in Paris after the postponement of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Photo: Winson Wong

Hong Kong’s cycling team have set their sights on the track World Championships in October after the postponement of Asian Games, with star rider Sarah Lee Wai-sze still included in their plans – for now.

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With China delaying September’s Hangzhou Games because of a rise in Covid-19 cases, cycling head coach Shen Jinkang and his charges will now compete in a series of international competitions building up to the track Worlds in Paris.

“We will need to find other competitions to keep the momentum and improve the riders in their specific skills,” Shen said. “We now plan to send teams to the Asian Championships in India in June, and the Nations Cup in Colombia in July, which will be followed by the Japan Cup Class I&II events with the track World Championships in Paris the prime target.

“But of course the Sports Institute will review the pandemic situation in these countries before we allow the riders to go.”

Sarah Lee beats Germany’s Emma Hinze for the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Izu Velodrome in Japan. Photo: AFP
Sarah Lee beats Germany’s Emma Hinze for the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Izu Velodrome in Japan. Photo: AFP

Most of the Hong Kong team headed to Kunming for a training camp late last year, to prepare for the Asian Games and minimise the effects of quarantine requirements in China.

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Lee and Leung Wing-yee – a bronze medallist at the 2018 Asian Games – joined the team last month, and according to the coach, both riders are making good progress.

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