Tokyo Games: Sarah Lee hopes Nations Cup in Hong Kong can provide final fling ahead of Olympics after a year without competing
- Coach Shen Jinkang praises the safety measures planned for the May event but organisers are still awaiting approval from the Hong Kong government
- Officials have set Monday as the deadline for a decision on the Nations Cup, with the National Championships in Guangzhou an alternative warm-up for Lee should the Hong Kong race be cancelled
Head cycling coach Shen Jinkang praised the Covid-19 safety measures planned for next month’s Nations Cup while hoping that Hong Kong’s UCI-sanctioned event can be Olympic medal hope Sarah Lee Wai-sze’s last competition before Tokyo.
“I have compared the health measures taken for the Hong Kong event with that of the Tokyo Olympic Games and the Hong Kong one has much stricter requirements,” said Shen on Friday.
“We intend to use the event as Sarah’s first in a year and the last ahead of the Tokyo Games and you see how important it is.
“Sarah has not been racing since the 2020 World Championships in Berlin because of the Covid-19 pandemic and if she can race again in May, it can minimise the effects of being without competition for such a long period of time.”
The inaugural track cycling event is an initiative of the International Cycling Union (UCI) to replace the previous track World Cup series but the pandemic has played havoc with the schedule. The opening round of the three-leg series in Newport, United Kingdom has been called off while the final leg in Cali, Colombia in June remains uncertain.