Kazakhstan hold key to HK riders' Olympic destiny
Victory in road race doesn't guarantee Beijing spot
The Hong Kong Road Cycling Championships, held in Sai Kung over the weekend, was the last chance for SAR riders to secure ranking points to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The top four countries in Asia are guaranteed a berth in the summer showpiece next August.
Now the question is: who will join Iran, Japan and South Korea in Beijing?
After an exciting competition in Sai Kung, the Hong Kong team gained 140 points, climbing above Malaysia into the top five.
But there is a tight race between Kazakhstan and the SAR for an Olympic place.
The Kazakhs - who are also in the top five - have the advantage because, unlike Hong Kong, there are more ranking events to come. So they hold the key to our riders' destiny.
The Hong Kong team did extremely well in sunny conditions on Saturday and Sunday. Although the riders came from different cycling organisations, their target was the same - to book a place in the Olympics.
They set aside personal glory for the good of the team - and the tactic worked.
On the first day, Hong Kong riders clinched the top five places in the individual time trial. Tang Wang-yit won the event, with rising star, Kwok Ho-ting, 16, coming seventh.
The 80-kilometre road race was held on Sunday, with Hong Kong clinching the top seven positions.
Wu Kin-sun, 22, was crowned champion (2 hours, 10 minutes and 16.2 seconds), followed by Cheung King-wai and Lam Kai-chun. In the final 5km slope section, Wu, Lam Kai-chun and Chan Chun-hing were among the leading group of cyclists when bad luck struck. Lam suffered stomach pains, while there were problems with one of the wheels of Chan's cycle.
At that crucial moment, Cheung hurried to support his teammates, along with Hong Kong's top cyclist, Wong Kam-po.
Despite the setbacks, Hong Kong managed to come out on top.
Champion Wu came second in this competition a few years ago. Wu said he was impressed by the co-operation shown by his teammates.
Wong, who came fourth on Sunday, booked his place in the 2008 Olympics earlier this year.
He was happy with Hong Kong's performance. 'We have done our best and we can only wait for the points to be calculated,' he said.
But Wong said he was not optimistic about Hong Kong's chances of making it to the Olympics.
Although the riders were from different organisations, their target was the same - to book a place in the Olympics.
