Personal Development & Interpersonal Relationships
個人成長與人際關係
Everything ready but spectators for promoting cycling
推廣單車運動 諸事俱備唯欠觀眾
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Racing cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze grabbed the overall championship  in the sprint and keirin events of the Track Cycling World Cup in two consecutive days. To add new pages to the history of Hong Kong's cycling, other than relying on the continuous efforts of the athletic teams and taking in new blood, the culture of the general public watching races to boost the morale  of the athletes must be nurtured.
Lee grabbed the bronze medal in the London Olympics last year and now she has got a World Cup double. People hope she can brace herself and win the World Championships next month to put on the Rainbow Jersey that cyclists around the world dream of.
To win the World Championships, the highest honour in cycling, Lee has to face arduous challenges. The reason is that the attraction of the Rainbow Jersey is much higher than that of the World Cup. Many international top cyclists save their energy for their best performance next month. It is evident in the fact that of the 22 athletes with the highest overall results in the two World Cup events in which Lee won the championship, she is the only person taking part in all three legs.
World Championships next month an even greater challenge
This World Cup started last October, with three legs held in Colombia, Scotland and Mexico. In the women's sprint event , Lee won the championship and fourth position in the first two legs and earned a total of 19 points. The two British athletes right behind her both won the second and third positions and earned 18 points. They were only one point behind Lee, but they would not take part in the last leg to be held in these few days. As a result, Lee earned eight more points for winning the third place in the last leg , taking a far lead in total score.
The keirin scores were even tighter. Lee won the sixth and third places in the last two legs, earning a total of 13 points. The British coming in second won the fourth and fifth places and earned the same points as Lee. She also did not take part in the last leg . Lee grabbed the overall championship with a score of 20 points. As for the three champions of separate legs from Columbia, Germany and China, they took part in only one leg .
The World Cup was scheduled between the Olympics and World Championships, two matches of highest honour in the cycling world. The London Olympics just ended last August. The first leg of the World Cup started in October right after and its last leg has just ended this month. The World Championships will start next month too. Many international top athletes would rather take a rest, but Lee just does not stop. She will be competing against top opponents who have recuperated and built up energy next month, which certainly means a series of bitter battles for her.
Venue built with software and hardware improved
Cycling races are mainly dominated by European athletes. In recent years, the performance of Asian cyclists has caught up fast. Wong Kam-po and Kwok Ho-ting of Hong Kong have worn the Rainbow Jersey before. The cycling team is one of the sporting events in which succession work has been relatively well done. Coach Shen Jinkang has laid out a successful strategy with high sustainability for Hong Kong with talents shining in each generation. As for popularising it, cycling has always been a leisure activity for many citizens. There are also serious fans who are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their bicycles.
The various factors have provided fertile grounds for cycling to become popular with elitism . The newly built top-class cycling sport and training velodrome is expected to be opened this year to develop and upgrade the sport through holding international events and further stimulate athletes to exert themselves, but it very much needs the citizens to go there and boost their morale .
In foreign countries, many people are willing to spend several hundred dollars to watch a race. Japan's "racing wheels" accepts bets like horse racing in Hong Kong. The keirin race format has come from the "racing wheels". Hong Kong should not introduce a gambling element into cycling races but more thinking can be done to turn the support for the cyclists into specific action of going into the venue to watch a race, totally putting the positive energy of cycling into play.
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