Sarah Lee Wai-sze faces tough field in defence of world 500m time trial title
World 500m time trial champion must beat star-studded line-up to retain rainbow jersey
Sprinter Sarah Lee Wai-sze faces a huge task to defend her UCI rainbow jersey when the World Track Championships begin in Cali, Colombia, tomorrow.
The Hong Kong star won the women's 500 metre time trial at the last worlds in Minsk a year ago, beating Miriam Welte of Germany and Rebecca James of Britain who came second and third, respectively.
While those two will provide stern opposition again in the Cali oval, the additions of Anna Meares of Australia, Kristina Vogel of Germany and Lin Junhong of China to a star-studded field makes Lee's task of defending her title that much harder.
"The two-lap race is a straight race against the clock from a standing start, in which Lee has special expertise," said Hong Kong Cycling Association chairman Leung Hung-tak. "To prepare for the event, she spent the last month altitude training in Kunming and if she can get off to a smooth start, she has a great chance to defend her title."
But in-form Meares and Vogel have both shattered world marks. Meares, the 2012 London Olympic Games sprint champion, set a new world record in the 500m sprint of 32.836 seconds, in the World Cup classic in Aguascalientes, Colombia, in December, while Lee managed only third in the same event with an Asian record of 33.296 seconds.
Vogel, meanwhile, set a world record in the flying 200m time trial in Aguascalientes, with 10.384s. Vogel and Welte also set a team sprint record of 32.153s.
"They are all very strong sprinters, but Lee is famous for her strong determination to win. She always exceeds expectations against tough opponents," said Leung.
All of these top sprinters will feature again in the sprint and keirin, the other events in which Lee will compete.
Hong Kong have only sent five riders to Cali, as the men's individual pursuit team failed to qualify. Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing will take part in the men's individual pursuit, scratch, points races and madison, while Jamie Wong Wan-yiu and Diao Xiaojuan will feature in the women's points race, scratch and omnium.
"The men's team pursuit is one of our targets at the Asian Games in September, but unfortunately the sudden retirement of Choi Ki-ho has upset our plan," said Leung. "Leung has been included and hopefully he can be ready for the challenge."
