Sarah Lee’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopes take a hit after a disappointing fifth in keirin at World Cup cycling series
- Hong Kong’s ace sprinter fails to maintain hot streak in Minsk after two World Cup and World Championship wins
- Two European youngsters dominate the race while Lee looks to get back on track in Glasgow
Cyclist Sarah Lee hit a speed bump on her road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after finishing a disappointing fifth in the women’s keirin at the World Cup series in Minsk, Belarus.
Wearing the rainbow jersey as the reigning world champion in the event, Lee failed to hit top gear in the six-rider final, suffering her first major defeat in 2019 after winning two World Cup series events and the worlds in Poland.
“There are many new faces in this opening round and they are very powerful,” said Lee when interviewed by UCI after her surprising defeat on Monday morning (Hong Kong time). “After the sprint on the previous day, we were a bit tired but we did our best. We are happy to see more young guns coming up to make the competition more exciting.”
Emma Hinze of Germany won the race. At 22, she came fourth in the World Cup Hong Kong leg in January behind champion Lee. Second place went to 20-year-old Mathilde Gros of France, who was crowned European champion in October and is widely regarded as one of France's best prospects ahead of Tokyo 2020. Lee Hyejin of South Korea took the bronze.
In the women’s omnium, Lee Sze-wing had a strong performance in her World Cup debut. The 18-year-old and the youngest in the field came 12th in the Olympic programme. Lee only raced her first senior event for Hong Kong last month, when she snatched a omnium bronze at the Asian championships in South Korea.