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UCI Track Cycling World Cup
SportOther Sport
Andrew McNicol
Andrew McNicol

Opinion | Inaugural UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup shows it’s time to welcome (some) international sport and spectators back to Hong Kong

  • The Velodrome’s ‘live bubble’ is proof that the city can adapt world-class events to Covid-19 times as cases peter out
  • Hong Kong’s top cyclists rue lack of atmosphere without fans – surely government can meet somewhere in the middle?

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Two cyclists from Team USA sanitising their hands after a training session ahead of their UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup men's and women's races at the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Cycling Association of Hong Kong
Andrew McNicol

No spectators, strict athlete, medical and media bubbles and disinfectant spray-downs with each lift journey. Those tuning into the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup on TV this weekend will unlikely see such a sterile sporting spectacle again.

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Some would deem it necessary protocol, others over-the-top cautious, but Hong Kong’s first international sports event of the year is doing its job: letting hungry competitors compete and avoiding a coronavirus outbreak at all costs.

As the city’s Covid-19 numbers continue to drop – local cases have been around zero for the last two weeks – and sports events organisers perpetually tweak pandemic-era playbooks, might it be time to reintroduce similar-scale events?

It’s not like this is the Tokyo ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games, where cases are on the rise (see its re-declaration of various states of emergency over the last two months) and public confidence steadily goes the other way. There is no force from governing bodies or outrage from locals (yet). There are just sensible, proven measures helping Hong Kong sports back to its feet.
Hong Kong track cyclists Law Tsz-chun and To Cheuk-hei in the men's keirin first round repechage at the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup at the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: SCMP / May Tse
Hong Kong track cyclists Law Tsz-chun and To Cheuk-hei in the men's keirin first round repechage at the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup at the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: SCMP / May Tse
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The four days of the Nations Cup were flawless from an organisational and Covid-protocol standpoint given the prearranged social distancing and negative test regulations. The media was limited to one stand and could not conduct in-person post-race interviews, while athletes and staff were essentially on a train/compete/rest cycle in the Velodrome.

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