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Wong says trade-off was worthwhile

Newly-crowned world champion Wong Kam-po has no regrets about abandoning his dream of taking part in the Tour de France, saying it was worth the trade-off to be able to wear a rainbow jersey.

Wong earned the distinctive jersey, which is mostly white with multi-coloured trimmings, when he won the 15-km scratch race in Palma de Mallorca, Spain on Saturday. And he sported the prized garment on his return to Hong Kong yesterday.

'The jersey is the highest honour in cycling as it is awarded to world champions only. I will be the only rider with this jersey whenever I take part in a scratch race in the next 12 months,' said a delighted Wong after becoming the first Hong Kong rider to win a world title.

While Wong said his victory in the world championships was a dream come true, he had to give up another lifelong ambition to make it happen.

'After winning an individual road race gold medal at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998, I had set my sights on joining the cream of cycling in the Tour de France,' Wong said. 'Le Tour is always the biggest thing in every rider's head, but having repeated discussions with my coach and other people in the sport, I had to change my focus to track events.

'It was a big decision to make, and I had to give a great deal of effort on the track. As a result, my performance in road racing has been affected. But I am very happy that all this hard work paid off with the victory in Spain.'

But Wong's attention in the next six months will shift back to road races, as he tries to help the Hong Kong team win Olympic berths.

'The 2008 Games road race qualifiers are now under way until September and we must finish in the top three in Asia in order to obtain the all-important berths,' said Wong.

Hong Kong are currently third in the Asian tour standings and according to the rules, the top three teams will be each allowed to send two representatives to the Beijing Games. While Iran and Japan are runaway leaders in the standings, Hong Kong are closely chased by Syria and Malaysia.

Wong has already said he would not be taking part in road-race events in Beijing even if Hong Kong could make the qualifiers, but would give the opportunity to other team members. 'It's time for others to get a chance in the road race in Beijing. The track event qualifiers will start after the road race finishes and fortunately there is no clash of dates,' he said.

Since the scratch race is not an Olympic event, Wong will have to work hard in points race and madison for the Beijing Games. He qualified for the points race at the Sydney and Athens Games where he finished 11th and 20th respectively. With up-and-coming Cheung King-wai, points race gold medallist at the Doha Asian Games, also in the fold Hong Kong may be able to send more track riders to Beijing. Wong came 11th in the points race in Mallorca, but coach Shen Jinkang said anything could happen in Beijing.

'He has the right physique and physical condition. If he can take the opportunities that come his way during the Olympic race, he may finish with a medal,' said the coach.

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