Track Cycling World Cup: Sarah Lee looks to shine before home crowd in Hong Kong
- World-class sprinter favoured in track cycling series finale, which begins on Friday
- But coach plays down idea Lee is targeting gold medal at Tseung Kwan O Velodrome
The question on the minds of local cycling fans this week is: can Sarah Lee Wai-sze win her first track cycling World Cup series gold medal in front of a home crowd?
Having won the women’s sprint in all three series legs she has competed in this season, including last week’s leg in Cambridge, New Zealand, Hong Kong’s world-class sprinter is favoured in the season finale which kicks off on Friday.
Lee’s previous best result at the Tseung Kwan O Velodrome was a silver medal when she lost to China’s Lin Junhong in the sprint final at the 2016 World Cup series. She also got a bronze medal in the same event at the same venue when Hong Kong hosted the 2017 world championships.
With her successes in legs in Paris and Milton, Canada at the beginning of the season, home hopes are high. She skipped the two rounds in Berlin and London in December.
Her coach, Shen Jinkang, though does not see glory in Hong Kong as a priority.
“I don’t think her target is to win a gold medal in Hong Kong,” he said. “This is the last World Cup series leg of the season and she should use the opportunity to try different tactics against different riders.”