appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Paul McNamara

Head coach Herve Dagorne has backed star Hong Kong rider Ceci Lee Sze-wing to manage the stress of competing at the UCI Track Nations Cup this week.
The stakes are high for Lee at her home velodrome in Tseung Kwan O, with a generous bounty of Olympic qualification points on offer. The 22-year-old has targeted Paris Games spots in both the omnium and Madison events.
Lee claimed Madison bronze at last month’s Asian championships in India, where she rode with Leung Bo-yee, but the pair from Uzbekistan, who are hot on the heels of Hong Kong in the Olympic chase, nabbed silver.
Still, Lee is Hong Kong’s big hope for the Nations Cup, which begins on Friday. On Saturday night she will partner Leung Wing-yee and on Sunday will ride in the omnium.
While she returned from New Delhi with two silver and two bronze medals, Dagorne was heartened by more than her performance on the track, detecting encouraging signs in an athlete he said previously “arrived at international competitions … not sure how to adapt a strategy”.

“She was not satisfied with her silvers and bronzes, but I was really pleased with her technical and tactical progress,” Dagorne said. “Also, she showed good progress in the management of the stress we need to compete at the highest level, and of the environment around her.
“I really want [all our riders] to know when they are racing in Hong Kong, they have the support of the public, but they need to use it positively, not let it add pressure.
“Firstly, they have to do well for themselves. If that makes their families and the public happy, it is great.
“Ceci is a really hard worker, and always wants to do more. Now she understands that she can also relax. At the Asian championships, I could see her really focusing on her performance, and not thinking about the outside.”
Lee was 12th and 13th in the omnium and Madison, respectively, in January’s opening Nations Cup meeting in Adelaide.
She will race at the final stop in Canada in April, regardless of her results in Hong Kong, with only the strongest two performances from the competition’s three legs counting towards Olympic qualification.
Dagorne said he thought Lee’s Australian showings did not reflect her potential.

Dagorne told the 13 Hong Kong riders competing over the three days to prepare for “one of the most difficult events of the year”. The world’s leading cyclists are descending on the city, and many began familiarising themselves with the Hong Kong Velodrome on Tuesday.
“We have to raise [our standard], and be excellent in every field of performance; the competition is on another level [from the Asian championships],” Dagorne said.
Leung claimed points race bronze at the Asian competition, and there were bronzes for male riders Yung Tsun-ho, Ng Pak-hang, Mow Ching-yin and Tso Kai-kwong. Tso, 23, began as a road racer and, said Dagorne, “two years ago, was still climbing Tai Mo Shan every weekend”.
Dagorne has urged Lee to bank two top-10 finishes, and challenged her teammates to ride the wave of home support – although tickets remain available for all three days – to personal-best efforts.
Returning to the Madison, Dagorne insisted Lee and Leung would “focus on their own performance”, and not become consumed with trying to beat closest Olympic challengers Uzbekistan.
However, the relatively new-look pair were still forming an understanding, with technique and tactics vital in an event where riders take it in turns to race.
“The most experienced teams [race] without thinking – it is still a work in progress for Ceci [and Leung], but when they can focus only on the race strategy, and not technique, there will be a big improvement,” Dagorne said.


Ex-China volleyballer Wang Yunlu says missing Paris Olympics made her feel like a ‘failure’

Hong Kong’s sports sector helped generate extra HK$46b in value in 2024

Chinese authorities investigating ‘malicious’ cyberbullying of diving star Quan Hongchan

Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting takes bronze at Asian championships in competitive return

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Cycling head coach Dagorne challenges Hong Kong Olympic hopeful Ceci Lee to handle ‘stress’ of major home event

Hong Kong’s Ceci Lee Sze-wing (white hat) and Yang Qianyu (blue hat) on Cycling Road- Woman’s CSC Cycling Road Course (139.7Km) during the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, Thousand-Island Lake at Tonglu. 04OCT23 SCMP/ Dickson Lee.

Ceci Lee (in red) came home from the Asian championships in New Delhi with two silver and two bronze medals. Photo: Handout

Lee claimed four medals at the Asian championships, while Ng Pak-hang won a bronze. Photo: Handout

Leung Wing-yee (left), an Asian Games bronze medallist, will partner Lee in the Madison. Photo: Xinhua

Asian Track Cycling Championships: Ceci Lee claims Hong Kong’s first medal but pipped to gold again by Japanese nemesis

Ceci Lee Sze-wing took silver in the women’s elimination race. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong’s Lee Yan-ho won bronze in the men’s junior scratch race. Photo: Handout

Asian Track Cycling Championships: Hong Kong continue medal rush as experienced duo claim bronzes

Mow Ching-yin and Leung Bo-yee (right) show off their bronze medals in New Delhi. Photo: Handout

Leung Bo-yee (right) on the podium for Hong Kong in New Delhi. Photo: Handout

Asian Track Cycling Championships: Ceci Lee’s wait for gold continues, but star Hongkonger bags second silver

Ng Pak-hang (left) and Ceci Lee with their medals at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in Delhi. Photo: Handout

Ceci Lee Sze-wing (in red) in action at the 2024 Asian Track Cycling Championships in Delhi. Photo: Handout

Asian Track Cycling Championships: Hong Kong coach Dagorne targets full-time role, says Lee is city’s main Olympics hope

Ceci Lee (left) is leading the “new era” of Hong Kong cyclists replacing outgoing stars, including Yang Qianyu (right). Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong’s cyclists want more hardware after their six medals at last year’s Asian Games. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The exit of long-time Hong Kong head coach Shen Jinkang (left) created a vacancy for the top job. Photo: Dickson Lee.

Sport

Hong Kong

Other Sport

Lee is city’s big hope at the UCI Track Nations Cup, which begins on Friday, competing in the omnium and in the Madison with Leung Wing-yee
The three-day event will feature some of the world’s best cyclists, eager to battle for the Paris Olympics qualification points on offer


Cycling head coach Herve Dagorne is confident Lee will manage the ‘stress’ of racing in a home Nations Cup, in which crucial Olympic qualification points are up for grabs.
