‘Fantastic’ Sarah Lee the best on the planet, says former world champion Nicky Degrendele
- The 2018 world champion from Belgium is left in no doubt as to who is the most dominant rider at the moment
- Riders get ready for the PRURide Six Day Hong Kong series, a fun-filled event incorporating lights and music with live action
Former world champion Nicky Degrendele has saluted Sarah Lee Wai-sze by calling the Hong Kong superstar the best sprinter in the world, but time will tell whether she can hold her form for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Degrendele, the 2018 world champion who beat Lee into second place in the women’s keirin in the Netherlands, said there was no doubt who was top dog on the velodrome in 2019.
“She is the best sprinter in the world at the moment,” said Degrendele of Lee, who won two gold medals at the track world championships in Poland last week. “The way she performed in Pruszkow was just fantastic. But still it’s too early to say whether she can do it again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with almost one and a half years to go.
“When you go to the line with good training and the balance of finding the right attitude, you are ready to achieve anything you want. Everybody that goes to the line has a chance of winning and it will be the case who’s the best on the day.”
Degrendele is preparing to cross swords with Lee again in the PRURide Six Day Hong Kong series, starting on Friday but she knows competition won’t be as tough as Pruszkow with a more laid-back atmosphere as music and lights will incorporate cycling action on the Tseung Kwan O velodrome.