IN Wong Kam-po's heart, he had failed in his quest for a hat-trick in the Tour of South China Sea - but on paper, he was the champion.
The 1996 and 1997 winner was yesterday crowned the overall champion on New Year's Day after organisers excluded the results of the final race from the overall standings.
Race officials stopped the race for safety reasons after mainland rider Ma Yajun's bike collided with a car on the sixth lap of the 10-lap 90-kilometre road race in Coloane, Macau.
Wong, the overnight leader, was the biggest beneficiary as organisers decided to stick to the overall results as of Friday.
The SAR's Asian Games champion admitted he would have lost the overall title if the results of the day had counted towards the overall standings or the race had been allowed to continue.
'I know I would have lost today's race and the Tour title as I was about three minutes behind the leaders and it's almost impossible for me to catch them,' said Wong.
