Sarah Lee hit by first defeat in time trial in six years at Asian Championships
Hong Kong’s golden girl loses to mainland opponent Zhong Tianshi at Izu velodrome near Tokyo, settling for second
Sarah Lee Wai-sze’s Asian Championship campaign hit the skids after she suffered her first defeat in six years in the women’s time trial on Wednesday.
At the Izu velodrome, 120km west of Tokyo and the designated venue for the 2020 Olympic Games, Lee finished second in the 500-metre sprint event, a discipline she has dominated in the past, after easily losing to rival Zhong Tianshi of China.
We have always had confidence in Lee as a top sprinter, but the mainlanders are very strong in this event
A major hope for China’s first Olympic cycling gold in Rio this summer, Zhong finished the two-lap event in 33. 498 seconds.
Lee, who was the regional champion of the non-Olympic programme since 2011, clocked 33.903 seconds to settle for silver. Hsiao Mei-Yu of Taiwan, the 2007 champion, was well behind the duo when clocking 35.09 seconds for the bronze.
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Zhong was absent from the Hong Kong leg of the UCI Track World Cup series two weeks ago, apparently saving her best for the regional championships.
But Lee was also far from her best as the Hong Kong rider holds the Asian record of 33.296 seconds set at the World Cup series in Aguscalientes, Mexico, two years ago.