Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Hong Kong’s UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup ‘live bubble’ offers glimpse into Covid-19-cursed Games
- UCI head of track Peruzzi praises ‘well-oiled’ Hong Kong model as organisers use it as reference for Tokyo and Cali
- Organising committee chairman Leung reflects on high expenses, last-minute pull-outs and ‘Tokyo rehearsal’
But the spectator-less ‘live bubble’ equipped with separate injury- and Covid-19-related medical teams seen at the Hong Kong Velodrome is expected to be implemented by the Tokyo Olympic Committee and relevant organisers as they attempt to prove the sceptical Japanese public wrong.
“I cannot say whether [the Nations Cup] will be used as a reference, but we have seen the bubble plan that is being prepared for the Tokyo Games and it is very much similar to what has been put in place here,” said Gilles Peruzzi, UCI head of track, para-cycling and indoor cycling. He was part of the competition bubble just metres away from non-bubbled journalists and therefore conducting interviews remotely.
“I’m not sure which one is the reference [for which], but this is for sure a very good model for the Olympics. If similar measures are taken in Tokyo, I have no concern that it will likewise be safe,” he said, reiterating the need for the Games to go ahead, not just for governing body UCI, but track cycling as a whole.
He said the UCI will be liaising with organisers spearheading their next event in Cali, Colombia, to “adjust their bubble plans to make it [similar], because it was very well-thought through”.
“You can’t go wrong. It’s a very well-oiled machine and I can’t see much improvement that can be brought to this system. The people coming from different parts of the world have different constraints but nevertheless we were prepared to accommodate their requests.”
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Peruzzi hoped the UCI – be it in the form of a Nations Cup, World Cup or world championship – would return to Hong Kong, but stressed that it would only be comfortable doing so once normalcy prevails.
“I can only hope that any future event will not have to be run under such difficult circumstances. It raised a number of challenges related to athletes and high performance,” he said.
“Our high performance athletes have major concerns about nutrition – when and what they can eat. If they can’t choose, it’s a problem. Treatment such as massages and [recovery] when you’re constrained to one person per room is also difficult.”
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The chairman of the Nations Cup Hong Kong organising committee, Simon Leung Chi-wa, said initial estimates for spending exceeded those of a pandemic-less world as they had to fork out more for tests, transport and other precautions. For example, although there were fewer athletes and staff, entire hotels had to be booked to truly fulfil the bubble concept.
“Expenses was one issue, another was overcoming many of the government’s requirements alongside communication with overseas teams. Teams believing in our bubble was also another big question mark,” Leung said.
“The overall spending was around HK$10 million. Usually it’s in the range of eight to 10 million, but because of the bubble we had to spend more on the medical and accommodation side.”
Leung also said the British and Indian teams were forced to pull out on relatively short notice due to Hong Kong travel restrictions, before adding that the city would unlikely host another Nations Cup until 2023.
“We don’t have anything confirmed, but they said verbally they would like to work with us again. But it won’t be in 2022 as we will be focusing on more domestic competitions,” he said.
“This time‘s bubble plan gave the UCI the confidence that we can do it … but if you’re asking whether we’d do another bubble [in future], I would probably say no at the moment because these UCI Cups are not the priority next year.
As for the Olympics, Leung assured that Hong Kong’s two women’s track representatives – Sarah Lee Wai-sze and Jessica Lee Hoi-yan – would be in safe hands.
“As you saw, Japan really did send their full team. We’re very happy they showed so much support for the event. I think they are really focused on holding the Olympics so getting these [competitions in] is good for everyone.”
“There were just too many things happening this year because of Covid-19,” she said. “It’s caused us to not have any feelings. But as we see the Olympics increasingly seems to be happening, just to compete at such a unique event is a milestone in itself. You don’t even need to think about medals and things like that. Doing the best you can in this environment already will have meant I’ve succeeded at the Olympics.”
