Lee Wai-sze sprints to World Cup gold
Hong Kong's Olympic heroine grabs first place in sprint in Cali for her best result at the event
Lee Wai-sze sounded an early warning on her road to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with a perfect start in the World Cup opening series.
The 25-year-old kicked off the season with a gold medal in the women's sprint in Cali, Colombia, her first victory in a World Cup event.
In a tough best-of-three final, the London Olympic Games keirin bronze medallist overcame Rebecca James of Great Britain 2-1.
"The two were very close as James beat Lee by one thousandth of a second in the qualifying round," said Hong Kong coach Shen Jinkang. "Despite tiring legs in the final, Lee was still able to overcome Rebecca with a powerful sprint before the finish to take the win.
"She has never won at the World Cup before and the result proves she can compete against any top rider at the highest level." The Hong Kong rider's previous best World Cup result was a silver in the keirin and a sprint bronze in London in February.
In Cali, she reached the final with an impressive semi-final victory over another Briton, Jessica Varnish, with two straight wins. Varnish and James had already joined forces to win the team sprint on the previous day. And Varnish was also the partner of Victoria Pendleton at the London Games this summer. The duo reached the gold medal match in the team sprint with a world record before being disqualified.