2021 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup: Hong Kong welcomes first international sports event of the year as Olympic preparations heat up
- Birthday girl Sarah Lee and teammate Jessica Lee are preparing for what is likely the last formal competition ahead of the Games
- Youngsters Yeung Cho-yiu, Law Tsz-chun and To Cheuk-hei are out to prove Hong Kong’s cycling scene is as strong as ever
After two seasons of postponements and cancellations and doubts over whether the event would actually take place during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong welcomes its first international sports event of the year at the 2021 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup starting Thursday and finishing over the weekend.
Sarah Lee Wai-sze, Jessica Lee Hoi-yan, Yeung Cho-yiu, Law Tsz-chun and To Cheuk-hei make up the five local entrants competing at the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O in what is likely the team’s final outing ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer. Points will also go towards the UCI World Championships in Turkmenistan in October.
Held in a strict government-approved Covid-19 precautionary bubble, no spectators will be allowed into the venue but fans will be able to watch the likes of Japan’s world championship women’s omnium gold medallist Yumi Kajihara and 2019 Asian championship women’s keirin gold medallist Yuka Kobayashi on livestream TV.
Newcomer Yeung, a former national handball team player, hopes to follow in the Lees’ footsteps and improve upon her gold medals in the youth UCI 500m time trials in 2018 with every race. The 20-year-old joins the team sprint race as one of the next generation’s most promising local women’s cyclists.
Sprint, keirin and time trial entrant Law impressed at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Canada last January, clinching fourth place in the men’s and Hong Kong’s best-placed finish. Like Yeung, the 21-year-old has impressed in the Asian and junior circuits and hopes to further translate it into international level.
Another men’s prospect is 21-year-old To, who had been clocking impressive times in Hong Kong and China races prior to the pandemic. Now in this third year with the seniors, the former national junior champion has a chance to surprise a few after a stop-start couple of years.
Overseeing Hong Kong’s Nations Cup campaign is long-serving coach Shen Jinkang, who previously highlighted the importance of the event ahead of Tokyo. That his star cyclist Sarah Lee has not competed in official capacity for more than a year will be less of a concern should she finish on the familiar podium.
All involved in the competition and bubble were required to show proof of good health before visiting the city and take a Covid-19 test upon arrival. No community contact is permitted and they will be tested every two days before leaving.