Paris Olympics: swimmer Leon Marchand’s formula for success copied by Hong Kong cyclists
- City’s cycling coach Herve Dagorne knows Games poster boy Marchand’s father and uncle, and learned secrets behind Frenchman’s four golds
The Hong Kong cycling team have received Olympic tips from the immediate family of Games poster-boy Leon Marchand, ahead of Ceci Lee Sze-wing launching her Paris campaign on Sunday.
Head coach Herve Dagorne went to the 1988 and 1992 Olympics with Marchand’s uncle, Christophe, a former freestyle distance swimmer.
Dagorne, part of the French team pursuit track quartet in Seoul and Barcelona, is also friends with Marchand’s father Xavier, another ex-swimmer who raced in the 200 metres individual medley at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Lee and fellow cyclist Vincent Lau Wan-yau, who failed to finish Saturday’s men’s road race, transferred from their Brittany camp to the Olympic Village on Wednesday.
“Going into the village was a real challenge, we were reduced to a very small team and there are new [support staff],” Dagorne said. “Ceci’s and Vincent’s teammates flew home on Wednesday, so it was just them, with a feeling of ‘the Games is here’. I tried to prepare them psychologically for any issues, so they stay relaxed.
