Sarah Lee favours training than competing as she skips National Championships

Hong Kong’s newly crowned Asian champions Yang Qianyu and teammate Leung Chun-wing will headline the entry list in this weekend’s National Championships – but don’t expect to see Sarah Lee Wai-sze.

Top local riders will be using the Nationals on Saturday to gear up for next month’s UCI Track World Championships but Hong Kong’s most famous cyclist will be a notable absentee because she has decided to train on her own ahead of the Worlds.

Still, there will be plenty of local stars for the event after the Hong Kong team scrapped the last two rounds of the World Cup series in America to stay home so they can better prepare themselves for the Worlds, which will take place at the Tseung Kwan O Velodrome on April 12-16.

“Many of our track riders are of world-class level and may not take part in a home event under normal circumstances,” said Cycling Association chairman Leung Hung-tak. “But since the world event is approaching, they intend to use the opportunity to get familiar with the track conditions and fine tune their training before taking on the best riders in the world.

“It’s always important to deliver at the World Championships, especially as this will be for the first time they will race in front of home fans. It may cause some pressure but they can turn these pressure into motivation so they raise their standard to a higher level.”