Cycling bosses want new head coach Herve Dagorne to ‘bring glory to Hong Kong’, Frenchman targeting international medals
- Frenchman Herve Dagorne is the new head coach of Hong Kong cycling following an interim spell in charge
- The former Olympic team pursuit cyclist’s immediate goal is to help Ceci Lee Sze-wing qualify for Paris Olympics
Cycling bosses want Herve Dagorne to “bring glory to Hong Kong”, after appointing the Frenchman to succeed retired Shen Jinkang as head coach of the city’s cycling team.
Dagorne, a former Olympic team pursuit cyclist, has been acting head coach since the beginning of the year, and led the team at the Hong Kong leg of the Nations Cup this month.
He was also in charge for January’s Nations Cup in Adelaide and at the Asian Track Championships in Malaysia last month, when Hong Kong claimed nine medals.
Hong Kong cycling is currently trying to stave off the doomsday scenario of failing to qualify a track racer for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1996.
The lone hope of ensuring the city’s presence for a seventh straight games is Ceci Lee Sze-wing, the 22-year-old, who claimed four of those Asian championships medals, and currently occupies a Paris qualifying spot in the omnium event.
Dagorne has been influential in Lee’s development, first as national cycling coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), where he arrived in 2018 after three years as Kazakhstan head coach, followed by his interim head coach stint this year.
