bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Alvin Sallay

Wong Kam-po never ceases to amaze. At 36, the popular cycling ace showed he was still capable of churning out the kilometres and bringing honour to Hong Kong.
This week, the four-time Olympian won his third gold medal in the 204-kilometre road race at the quadrennial National Games - his other two triumphs were in 1997 and 2001 - when he pipped a rider from the People's Liberation Army by a mere two seconds.
And this after a gruelling five hours and 35 minutes  in the saddle. It goes to show Wong's mental fortitude and the astonishing willpower that has earned him a cabinet full of trophies and medals. 
Wong can now claim to be one of Hong Kong's most successful athletes, perhaps only second to windsurfer Lee Lai-shan, whose Olympic gold medal in 1996 is still unmatched. His longevity - he has now set his sights on qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics -  underlines his unconditional commitment to the sport.
It has come against the odds as Wong and the rest of our elite cyclists do most of their training in Shenzhen. This is because  Hong Kong is bereft of training facilities.  
While government officials are quick to share the limelight with successful athletes, they are more reluctant to lend a helping hand  when it comes to building facilities.
Such a Kodak moment was seen this week when Wong was welcomed home from Jinan, Shandong, by the Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing. Is Tsang aware that Wong and company have no access to training facilities in Hong Kong and have to look to the mainland for assistance?
The reflected glory in which our officials revel was too much for reader Bill Knight, who asked what the government had done to nurture cycling.
'There has been a decrepit mini-velodrome of sorts near the Sports Institute in Sha Tin, but that was unsuitable and fell into disuse. Surely it's time Hong Kong built a proper velodrome. Who knows how many youngsters will be inspired to follow in Kam-po's footsteps if given the chance,' Knight said.
In 2006, the government promised to build a velodrome in Tseung Kwan O, at an estimated cost of HK$200 million. The completion date was 2012, although cycling officials had hoped the government would fast-forward the process and have it ready for next month's East Asian Games (EAG). The unavailability of a velodrome - the one at the Sports Institute has been demolished and a new, nine-storey multi-purpose building will take its place under the government's HK$1.7 billion redevelopment plan - forced EAG officials to cut all track events from the cycling programme.
Hong Kong Cycling Association officials pleaded with the government as far back as January 2007. The association's then vice-president,  Herman Hu Shao-ming, said: 'If we can start the construction work this year [2007], we have ample time to finish the project in time for the 2009 Games.
'The government has already reserved the land for the venue and what we need now is the money. Once we have received the subvention, we then need to go through a lot of rules and procedures before we can actually start the construction. But I hope the government can speed up the process to help the sport.'
Bureaucracy obviously put a spanner in the works and Hong Kong's first-ever multi-sports event is the poorer. What a shame as Hong Kong had a good chance of winning a number of medals.
Hong Kong cycling coach Shen Jinkang has already warned the lack of proper training facilities, including a velodrome, would be detrimental to sport's future.
Shen's concern stemmed from the fact the three-year gap from now until 2012 would leave budding talent with nowhere to train.
Wong and the other elite cyclists at least have the financial backing (from the Sports Institute) to do their track and road race preparations across the border. But what about those young cyclists who - as Knight asks - hope to emulate their hero?
Where can they go? Can they afford to go to Shenzhen to take up the sport? Will this obstacle cost cycling? Only time will tell.
'If we cannot train our junior riders for three years, it will be detrimental to our feeder system,' Shen said. 'Track cycling is growing very fast in our programme and we can't afford such a long period of training without a proper venue.'
Hong Kong has a number of proven winners on the track at international level, among them Cheung King-wai, who clinched a gold medal in the points race at the 2006 Asian Games, and Wong Wan-yiu, who won a gold medal in the World Cup Series in Copenhagen in February. 
And, of course, there is ironman Wong himself, who was crowned world champion in the scratch race in 2007.
Perhaps the HKCA should have gone cap in hand to the Jockey Club, like everyone else does.
Jockey Club largesse has provided a new HK$20 million BMX venue at Gin Drinker's Bay in Kwai Chung, which is staging this weekend's Asian championships.  
That's good news for Steven Wong and Alex Hunter, Wong Kam-po's teammates in the Hong Kong squad.  
Sadly for Wong Kam-po, he won't be able to take part in track events at the East Asian Games next month. He will have to look at the road race - on the still-to-be-opened Route Eight linking Tai Wai  to Tsing Yi - to bring home a gold medal for Hong Kong again.

