Leung Ka-yu bursts on to the scene to boost Hong Kong’s cycling hopes at Tokyo Olympics

Young gun Leung Ka-yu has become the newest addition of the Hong Kong men’s cycling team as they look to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. And the 23-year-old will give the Hong Kong team added strength for the tough road ahead in the track competition for next year’s Olympics. Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing have been the mainstays of the Hong Kong team for years but the pair welcomed Leung Ka-yu to compete along side them as they complete a three-pronged attack for Tokyo in the men’s madison and omnium. Leung Ka-yu showed his credentials on the road at Sunday’s annual Hong Kong road race championships in Tin Shui Wai by finishing third behind race winner Cheung. Leung Ka-yu has recently taken part in a number of endurance track events in Europe, giving Cheung and Leung Chun-wing an unexpected boost for Tokyo. Leung Chun-wing, 25, said he welcomed the younger Leung joining Hong Kong’s quest for Olympic qualification. “Leung Ka-yu has shown a marked improvement at international level and we are happy that he has joined the team,” said Leung Chun-wing. Olympic qualification for the madison and omnium has reached its halfway mark and the trio will be up against it as they attempt to line up for Tokyo. Hong Kong strike gold with best Asian Games medal haul to outshine Singapore in Jakarta and Palembang “There are five more rounds of qualification before it reaches its deadline in March 2020 and we have a busy schedule ahead of us as we try to book tickets to Tokyo,” said 28-year-old Cheung, who won the men’s road race on Sunday. “The 2019-2020 track World Cup series resume in November with six rounds [of qualification] and that will end early next year. We are going to race in as many events as possible so that we can gain sufficient points to enter the [final] series for Olympic qualification. “We have just past the halfway mark for the qualification period and although we seem to be on the right track [for qualifying] it’s still not going to be easy competing against the world’s best track cyclists, especially in the madison where we will compete against many quality European teams,” he explained. Gold again for Hong Kong as cyclist Leung Chun-wing shows his class in the omnium The remaining Olympic qualification will take results from the best three rounds of the World Cup series, plus the 2020 World Championships in March in Berlin and the 2020 Asian Championships in South Korea which have been moved forward to October. Hong Kong is currently in 17th place in the men’s madison qualifying and 22nd in the omnium. Sixteen teams in the madison and 20 individual riders for the omnium will qualify for Tokyo. The madison, which features two riders per team, is making a return to the Olympic programme after making its last appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games while omnium – like decathlon in the athletics – has been reduced from six disciplines to four after the Rio Olympics. Cheung and Leung Chun-wing won a madison gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta while the pair were also World Cup series winners in Minsk, Belarus earlier that year. Leung, who also represented Hong Kong in the omnium in Rio, where he finished 11th out of 18 riders, said there was still room for improvement for Hong Kong. “We are happy to see Ka-yu joining us in the two events as it gives us healthy competition and pushes us to work harder,” said Leung. “We are still in the fringe areas of qualification but the chance is always there, especially if we can work better as a team in the madison where skills are pivotal.” Leung Ka-yu, 23, said he was on a steep learning curve competing at the highest level but he will lean on his more experienced compatriots for support. “I can improve myself in the power and sprinting aspects in the two endurance events and hopefully my arrival will help strengthen our Olympic hopes,” said Leung Ka-yu. Meanwhile, Cheung won the 20.7-kilometre flat course of the National Championships in three hours and two seconds, while Fung Ka-ho came home three seconds behind in second place. Leung Ka-yu was third in 3:00:26. Leung Chun-wing was seventh in 3:00:49. Fung, who won the individual time trial on Saturday and is considered a road race specialist, said it would be difficult for Hong Kong to qualify for the road events for Tokyo. “Our target was to finish in the first two places at the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan earlier this year so that we can have a direct entry to the Tokyo Olympics, but we failed,” said Fung. “Now we have to go through the world rankings if we want to book a place to Tokyo but our chances look slim. We can only to do our best and see how it goes.” Hong Kong was represented by Cheung King-lok in the road race at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Meanwhile, Yang Qianyu won the 78-kilometre women’s road race in a time of 2:11:18. She was followed home by fellow national team members Pang Yao and Leung Wing-yee.

Leung Ka-yu bursts on to the scene to boost Hong Kong’s cycling hopes at Tokyo Olympics

Youngster joins more experienced Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing in trying to secure spot in Tokyo Hong Kong currently sits in 17th place in the men’s madison qualification and 22nd in the omnium, the top 16 and 20 respectively qualify

Youngster joins more experienced Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing in trying to secure spot in Tokyo

Hong Kong currently sits in 17th place in the men’s madison qualification and 22nd in the omnium, the top 16 and 20 respectively qualify