Sarah Lee admits ‘form isn’t good’ as Hong Kong track cycling star returns from 10-month lay-off for UCI Nations Cup
- Double Olympic bronze medallist returns to competition in Colombia as part of a 11-strong Hong Kong squad
- With retirement from the sport looming, 35-year-old concentrating on next phase of life at Baptist University
A “nervous” Sarah Lee Wai-sze returns to competition at the UCI Nations Cup in Colombia this week, and after more than 10 months on the sidelines has admitted her “form isn’t good”.
The double Olympic bronze medallist leaves for the event in Cali on Monday night as part of a 11-strong Hong Kong squad, and will compete in the women’s team sprint, the individual sprint and keirin.
Lee’s first race will be in the team event on Thursday, alongside Yeung Cho-yiu and Ng Sze-wing, with the competition running until Sunday.
“I’m a little nervous right now because I haven’t competed internationally since the Tokyo Olympics [in August],” Lee said during a live Instagram chat. “You know what, I’ve already packed my luggage [two days before her departure].”
The 35-year-old’s most recent competition was the National Games in September, where she won a gold in sprint, and a bronze in keirin. Since then, with retirement from the sport looming, Lee has been concentrating on the next phase of her life at Baptist University.
This week’s stop in South America is the final leg of the 2022 Nations Cup, and cyclists will be looking to earn points to qualify for the Track World Championships in France, which take place between October 12 and 16.
“To be honest, my form isn’t that good,” said Lee, who joined the city’s team in Kunming in early May for a month of training, before returning to Hong Kong after it was announced that the Asian Games had been postponed.
“I’m not under any pressure this time, but I’m excited, especially with our young riders in the team sprint,” Lee said. “I hope we have a good result.”
In the absence of Olympic sprint gold medallist Kelsey Mitchell and Olympic team sprint silver medallist Emma Hinze from Germany, Lee’s main rivals in the individual sprint and keirin will be Chinese pair Guo Yuefang and Zhai Fei, whom Lee lost to in the finals of the National Games.
“I haven’t competed with international riders in over 10 months, so I have no idea what their standard is now,” the 21-year-old said. “I saw some progress from training, and I hope to deliver my best in Cali.”
Lee will compete in the women’s team pursuit – with Yeung Bo-yee, Yang Qianyu and Pang Yao – on Thursday, and the omnium on Saturday and Sunday.
