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Paul McNamara

After a chastening debut Olympics showed Ceci Lee Sze-wing the gap between her and the world’s best cyclists, the rejuvenated and increasingly self-assured Hongkonger has targeted Games glory in 2028 and beyond.
Lee limped home 20th in her strongest event, the omnium, in the Paris velodrome last year, then acknowledged she had been overwhelmed by the occasion.
Reading online criticism as she waited for doping tests, Lee felt “really depressed”.
“I knew I didn’t deserve anything; it was a really hard moment,” Lee, who now avoids social media commentary, said.
“Before Paris, I thought the gap between me and the world-class riders was quite small. Afterwards, I realised it was really big.
“I saw others who were faster than me and still working so hard, so I have no reason to not do the same.”

Among the “many little steps” Lee took to overcome her disappointment were regular meetings with a sports psychologist at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.
“Sometimes, if I look back at the news from Paris, I feel a bit sad, but I’ve learned to not focus on it,” Lee said. “I’m learning how to enjoy races and training. I’m motivated every day, and my physical ability has improved.”
On days when she would rather switch off her alarm and go back to sleep, those past disappointments motivate her. “I need to push myself, so I don’t have more sad moments,” she said.
Seasoned watchers of the 24-year-old would have noticed a more bullish personality, reflected in bolder displays on track and road.
Previously, Lee would talk about the suffocating pressure of trying to emulate Hong Kong’s greatest cyclist, Sarah Lee Wai-sze. Today, she sees the two-time Olympic bronze medallist as “one of the targets for me”.
“My biggest ambition is to win Olympic and world championship medals,” said Lee, who is targeting the Los Angeles Games in 2028 and plans to race until the Olympics after that, in 2032 in Brisbane. “I have a long way to go, but aiming high is good motivation.”
Asked if she truly believed she could claim global medals, Lee answered with a firm “yes”.
Lee, who will compete in the three-day Hong Kong Track National Championships from Friday, regularly talks to Sarah Lee about how to relieve stress.
“I’m good at switching off physically, but not mentally. I’m always thinking about the [2026] Asian Games.”

The main goal for 2025 is November’s National Games, at which Lee will defend the individual road race title she won in 2021. She is still weighing up whether to compete in the previous month’s Track World Championships in Chile.
“I was at the last National Games to learn, no one expected anything from me,” Lee said. “Now, there is more expectation from inside and outside the team.
“Hong Kong is a stressful environment to compete in, but I’m learning to find the balance, so I turn that stress into motivation.”
Lee won scratch race gold at February’s Asian Track Championships, but said it was “not the one I want”. “The omnium is the Olympic event,” she said. “It’s always my main target.”


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Ceci Lee in Paris at last year’s Olympic Games road race. Photo: SF&OC

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Lee competing in last year’s Olympic omnium. Photo: SF&OC

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