Hong Kong International Track Cup: Lee Sze-wing makes most of home advantage to seize first Class I victory
- Lee dominates women’s omnium winning all 4 of the Olympic programme’s events to claim gold
- Leung Ka-yu takes bronze in men’s omnium with city’s squad bagging 2 more bronze in junior events through Guardiola Cheung
Lee Sze-wing made the most of home advantage to claim her biggest win on the track, claiming gold in the women’s omnium at the Hong Kong International Cup on Friday.
The 22-year-old dominated proceedings at Tseung Kwan O velodrome, winning all four parts that make up the event, from winning the first scratch race to the last points race.
Lee’s previous best results were victories in the Korea Cup and Malaysia Cup, both listed as Class II events by the International Cycling Union (UCI) but the Hong Kong one is a Class I.
But the Hongkonger admitted to being nervous before the start of her medal bid, on a track she lasted raced competitively on in 2019.
“I felt a bit like [I was] not waking up in the first event, maybe [because] I haven’t raced here for a long time, but fortunately I was able to make amends as the race went on,” Lee said. “The support of the fans including my family did help as they cheered loudly for me from the spectator stand.”
Lee though acknowledged that the absence of some of the sports best, including Japan’s world champion Yumi Kajihara and any riders from mainland China, made it less challenging than it might have been.
“Anyway, the event still provides a glimpse of other Asian riders who will be my rivals at next month’s Asian Championships, such as cyclist from Indonesia who have made some good progress recently,” she said. “The event is definitely a good rehearsal before the Asian Championships.”
Ayustina Delia Priatna of Indonesia finished second after South Korea’s former Asian junior champion Shin Ji-eun was disqualified. Third place went to Margarita Misyurina of Uzbekistan. Another Hong Kong rider, Leung Po-yee, came fifth.
Lee, who has taken part in the omnium at three Nations Cups so far this year, is the biggest hope for Hong Kong to qualify for the 2024 Paris Games. The Asian Championships is the next Olympic qualifying event, with the World Championships in Glasgow in August the last opportunity this year to book at sport at the Olympics.
In women’s Madison, which consisted of just three teams only, Lee and Yang Qianyu came second, behind South Korea’s Lee Ju-mi and Na Ah-reum, while their Hong Kong teammates, Leung Po-yee and younger sister Wing-yee, came third.
On the men’s side, Hong Kong’s Leung Ka-yu took bronze in the omnium, with a supreme effort in the last sprint points race, with Artyom Zakharov of Kazakhstan, silver medallist at the 2020 Asian Championships, winning gold. Romania’s Daniel Crista, one of the few riders from Europe in the city this week, was second.
Leung, who was fifth before the last event, dashed into second on the final lap, collecting a double score of six points to leapfrog two opponents for third overall.
Leung and Chu Chun-wai later won a silver medal in the men’s Madison, behind Zakharov and Ramis Dinmukhametov of Kazakhstan.
“It was very close among us in the final stages of the points race and fortunately I was able to score points with a strong finish,” Leung said. “The fans have to be praised for their cheering that push me work harder. That’s why I love to race in front of the home fans.
“The Asian Championships and World Championships are not too far away and having a tough race like this definitely help. I still don’t know if I have collected sufficient points for qualifying to the Worlds but if I can do well in Thailand at the Asian Championships, I will have a better chance.”
In the junior event, Guardiola Cheung Li-tong won two bronze medals for Hong Kong in the girls’ scratch and keirin.
