Cycling head coach Dagorne challenges Hong Kong Olympic hopeful Ceci Lee to handle ‘stress’ of major home event
- Lee is city’s big hope at the UCI Track Nations Cup, which begins on Friday, competing in the omnium and in the Madison with Leung Wing-yee
- The three-day event will feature some of the world’s best cyclists, eager to battle for the Paris Olympics qualification points on offer
Head coach Herve Dagorne has backed star Hong Kong rider Ceci Lee Sze-wing to manage the stress of competing at the UCI Track Nations Cup this week.
The stakes are high for Lee at her home velodrome in Tseung Kwan O, with a generous bounty of Olympic qualification points on offer. The 22-year-old has targeted Paris Games spots in both the omnium and Madison events.
Lee claimed Madison bronze at last month’s Asian championships in India, where she rode with Leung Bo-yee, but the pair from Uzbekistan, who are hot on the heels of Hong Kong in the Olympic chase, nabbed silver.
Still, Lee is Hong Kong’s big hope for the Nations Cup, which begins on Friday. On Saturday night she will partner Leung Wing-yee and on Sunday will ride in the omnium.
While she returned from New Delhi with two silver and two bronze medals, Dagorne was heartened by more than her performance on the track, detecting encouraging signs in an athlete he said previously “arrived at international competitions … not sure how to adapt a strategy”.
“She was not satisfied with her silvers and bronzes, but I was really pleased with her technical and tactical progress,” Dagorne said. “Also, she showed good progress in the management of the stress we need to compete at the highest level, and of the environment around her.
“I really want [all our riders] to know when they are racing in Hong Kong, they have the support of the public, but they need to use it positively, not let it add pressure.
“Firstly, they have to do well for themselves. If that makes their families and the public happy, it is great.
“Ceci is a really hard worker, and always wants to do more. Now she understands that she can also relax. At the Asian championships, I could see her really focusing on her performance, and not thinking about the outside.”
Lee was 12th and 13th in the omnium and Madison, respectively, in January’s opening Nations Cup meeting in Adelaide.
She will race at the final stop in Canada in April, regardless of her results in Hong Kong, with only the strongest two performances from the competition’s three legs counting towards Olympic qualification.
Dagorne said he thought Lee’s Australian showings did not reflect her potential.
Dagorne told the 13 Hong Kong riders competing over the three days to prepare for “one of the most difficult events of the year”. The world’s leading cyclists are descending on the city, and many began familiarising themselves with the Hong Kong Velodrome on Tuesday.
“We have to raise [our standard], and be excellent in every field of performance; the competition is on another level [from the Asian championships],” Dagorne said.
Leung claimed points race bronze at the Asian competition, and there were bronzes for male riders Yung Tsun-ho, Ng Pak-hang, Mow Ching-yin and Tso Kai-kwong. Tso, 23, began as a road racer and, said Dagorne, “two years ago, was still climbing Tai Mo Shan every weekend”.
Dagorne has urged Lee to bank two top-10 finishes, and challenged her teammates to ride the wave of home support – although tickets remain available for all three days – to personal-best efforts.
Returning to the Madison, Dagorne insisted Lee and Leung would “focus on their own performance”, and not become consumed with trying to beat closest Olympic challengers Uzbekistan.
However, the relatively new-look pair were still forming an understanding, with technique and tactics vital in an event where riders take it in turns to race.
“The most experienced teams [race] without thinking – it is still a work in progress for Ceci [and Leung], but when they can focus only on the race strategy, and not technique, there will be a big improvement,” Dagorne said.
