Hong Kong star Ceci Lee defends 10km scratch title at Asian event as teammates show promise

Ceci Lee Sze-wing showed her “physical and mental strength” at the Asian Track Cycling Championships, her coach said, reaching the podium in every event she entered to finish with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals on Monday.

The Hong Kong cycling star concluded her personal campaign on the sixth day of the seven-day meet in Tagaytay, Philippines, by capturing her second gold in the 10km scratch race.

A year after claiming her first Asian title in the same event, the 24-year-old showed significant progress by adding an elimination race gold, an omnium silver and bronzes in both the team pursuit and Madison.

Despite her frustration over the omnium silver, Lee applied the lessons from that defeat to her final race on Monday. She launched a solo breakaway with six laps remaining, maintaining her lead to the finish to defend her title.

“I lost in the omnium where I was most hopeful, so the regret was quite big,” she said.

“But on second thought, losing this time doesn’t mean I’ll lose next time. Losing in the omnium showed me that my sprint needs improvement. It’s better to lose now than at the Asian Games, so at least I know what to fix ahead of time.”