‘Fantastic’ Sarah Lee the best on the planet, says former world champion Nicky Degrendele

Former world champion Nicky Degrendele has saluted Sarah Lee Wai-sze by calling the Hong Kong superstar the best sprinter in the world, but time will tell whether she can hold her form for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Degrendele, the 2018 world champion who beat Lee into second place in the women’s keirin in the Netherlands, said there was no doubt who was top dog on the velodrome in 2019.

“She is the best sprinter in the world at the moment,” said Degrendele of Lee, who won two gold medals at the track world championships in Poland last week. “The way she performed in Pruszkow was just fantastic. But still it’s too early to say whether she can do it again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with almost one and a half years to go.

“When you go to the line with good training and the balance of finding the right attitude, you are ready to achieve anything you want. Everybody that goes to the line has a chance of winning and it will be the case who’s the best on the day.”

Degrendele is preparing to cross swords with Lee again in the PRURide Six Day Hong Kong series, starting on Friday but she knows competition won’t be as tough as Pruszkow with a more laid-back atmosphere as music and lights will incorporate cycling action on the Tseung Kwan O velodrome.

Two years ago when Hong Kong first hosted the track world championships at the same venue, Degrendele captured a bronze medal in the keirin, but the 22-year-old Belgian had a disappointing campaign in Pruszkow, finishing only 10th in the same discipline but she has vowed to do better.

“It’s a lesson I learned [in Pruszkow] and I have to make sure nothing like that happens again,” said Degrendele, who arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

“The six-day series is a bit different as it is not as intense as the world championships. It’s more relaxing and more fun so that you can enjoy the atmosphere more,” she said.

Hong Kong male cyclists Leung Chun-wing and Cheung King-lok will also compete in the series, the only pair of riders who have had the experience in the six-day series in Mallorca and Berlin. Other local representatives are Yang Qianyu, who came fifth in the women’s points race in Pruszkow, Pang Yao, Leung Wing-yee, Ma Yin-yu, Ko Siu-wai and Leung Ka-yu.