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Sarah Lee lines up for the sprint final in the JICF International Track Cup in Chiba. Photo: Handout

Paris Olympics: cyclist Sarah Lee back to winning ways after 2024 hint

  • Hong Kong track star wins two events at JICF International Track Cup in Japan as she regains some of her old form
  • Her comments on Instagram suggest she has not ruled out competing in 2024 Games after all

Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee Wai-sze won two events at the weekend’s JICF International Track Cup in Japan – after the city’s leading cyclist left open the possibility of prolonging her glittering career until the Paris Olympics.

The two-time Olympic bronze medallist, 35, had previously hinted that she might bow out after this year’s now-postponed Asian Games, but admitted this month in an Instagram Live that she had not ruled out racing in Paris in two years’ time.

“A lot of people want me to keep competing or to compete in Paris 2024, but that’s a bit far away for me,” Lee said. “I haven’t thought about it yet, so if you want to know my answer now, there isn’t one, but I’m really positive, whether it’s cycling or my studies [at Baptist University in Hong Kong].”

That appeared to leave the door ajar to the three-time world champion representing Hong Kong in both a rescheduled Asian Games next year and the 2024 Olympics, despite her intention to prioritise finishing her studies.

Cycling ace Sarah Lee won two events in Chiba, showing she still has plenty to offer. Photo: Handout

And she showed signs of what she can offer at the JICF (Japan Intercollegiate Cycling Federation) International Track Cup in Chiba at the weekend, winning the keirin on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday.

“I have a timetable for when I will be a coach,” she said. “I postponed my studies for two years [for the Tokyo Olympics], and if I postpone again this year due to the postponement of the Asian Games, my life will be delayed for another year.

“I will return to school after [competing in] Japan. I aim to get my bachelor’s degree this year just to challenge myself. If I fail, it will be because of cycling.”

Lee was admitted to Baptist University’s creative and professional writing programme in 2017, but she took a two-year break to prepare for the 2020 Olympics, at which she won a bronze medal in the sprint, before resuming her studies last September after finishing the National Games with two medals.

After six months away from racing, the star rider reunited with the Hong Kong squad in Kunming at the end of April. At the Nations Cup in Colombia in early July, Lee finished fourth in the keirin, her first international race since Tokyo.

Missing bike and lack of practice comes back to haunt Hong Kong cyclists

In this latest phase of her return to action, she raced in two Japan Cups in Izu, winning the keirin and finishing second in three other events, before racing in the JICF competition.

Although she did not face top-level opponents from the host nation in the sprint event, Lee produced a season’s best time of 11.547 seconds in the 200 metres flying start, before defeating Wang Sin-ting of Taiwan 2-0 in the final.

“I didn’t have a great feeling about the competition in the Nations Cup,” she said in the Instagram Live. “I didn’t get into competition mode – I had to watch some [competition] videos before my race.

Rising star Lee Sze-wing (centre) won the omnium, with compatriot Yang Qianyu (right) coming third. Photo: Handout

“I didn’t expect to reach 10.752 seconds in the first race in Izu, because I couldn’t reach that time when training in Hong Kong.”

Her fellow Hongkonger, Lee Sze-wing, also won two events in Chiba. The 21-year-old triumphed in the women’s madison alongside Yang Qianyu on Saturday, and in her favourite event, the omnium, on Sunday, including first places in the scratch, tempo and points races.

Leung Ka-yu took the men’s omnium on Sunday to give Hong Kong a total of five wins.

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