Hong Kong star Lee could quit Madison Olympic pursuit, focus on omnium Paris charge, after Nations Cup colour confusion
- Ceci Lee begins her quest for Nations Cup omnium success on Sunday morning
- World champion Emma Finucane and Japanese rider Kaiya Ota big winners on day two at Hong Kong Velodrome
Head coach Herve Dagorne is considering ending star rider Ceci Lee Sze-wing’s Madison Olympic pursuit, and releasing the promising 22-year-old to focus on reaching Paris in her preferred omnium event.
Lee and partner Leung Wing-yee finished 10th in the UCI Track Nations Cup, at Hong Kong Velodrome, on Saturday. Critically, they trailed in behind Uzbekistan, who leapfrog Hong Kong in the Olympic qualification standings.
Dagorne said a recent change of team colours proved costly in the heat of battle, with Lee and Leung looking for their old pink jerseys, rather than the current light blue, when searching out their partner for changeovers.
Olympic points remain up for grabs in the closing Nations Cup leg in Milton, Canada, next month. With Hong Kong’s Games hopes dwindling, however, Dagorne raised the prospect of Lee saving her legs for the omnium, where she currently occupies a qualifying position.
Lee races her Nations Cup omnium heat at 10:20am on Sunday, a tight turnaround that would be repeated in Canada.
“We need to do some calculations, but we might go with a different pair for the Madison [in Canada], so Ceci can really focus on the omnium,” Dagorne said.
“It is what Japan have done with Yumi [Kajihara, triple gold medalist at recent Asian championships], but we do not have the same depth in Hong Kong.”
Team Rakuten K Dreams won the final Madison sprint, worth double points, to pip New Zealand to gold by one point.
Uzbekistan picked up a single point to finish eighth, with Hong Kong avoiding being lapped to end up on zero. Teams lose 20 points if they are lapped, and gain 20 points if they lap the field.
“The target was to not lose a lap, to focus on ourselves and not the other teams, then we would finish in the top-10,” Dagorne said.
“They did that job, but there were some technical mistakes. With the new kit colours, they twice missed each other for the jump. They were looking for pink, which can happen when there is fatigue. Uzbekistan were ready to lose a lap, so it is disappointing, but that is the challenge of Madison.
“We hoped we could get one point, and finish in the top-eight. It was encouraging for tonight, but it is difficult for the Olympics.”
Another Hongkonger, Tso Kai-kwong, who claimed bronze at the recent Asian championships, finished 12th in his omnium heat to sneak into a field of 23 racers for the four-event competition. He finished 22nd overall, after placing 23rd, 22nd, and 19th in the scratch, tempo, and elimination races, respectively. The omnium was won by Aaron Gate, the current points race world champion from New Zealand.
Yung Tsun-ho, another Asian championships bronze medalist, reached the keirin quarter-finals, but was eliminated after finishing sixth, and replicating that effort in a repechage race.
Teammate and fellow keirin racer To Cheuk-hei, 24, exited after coming home fourth in the early repechage race, following a fifth-placed finish in his heat.
There was drama in the keirin semi-finals, with Thai rider Jai Angsuthasawit, the 2019-20 Track Cycling World Cup champion, wheeled away on a stretcher, his neck placed in a brace, following a heavy back-straight collision with Nicholas Paul of Trinidad and Tobago. The event was won by Kaiya Ota of Japan.
In women’s sprint qualifying, Hong Kong’s Ng Sze-wing was 37th, with compatriot and fellow 23-year-old Yeung Cho-yiu in 38th. Only the fastest 28 of 40 riders advanced to the next stage.
The brilliant 21-year-old Brit Emma Finucane, wearing the world champion’s rainbow jersey, waltzed to sprint final victory over Mathilde Gros of France.
