Sarah Lee claims gold at track cycling Nations Cup

Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee has won gold at the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup, beating Japan’s Yuka Kobayashi in the final of the women’s sprint competition on Friday.

It’s the first time Lee has competed in an international tournament in over a year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, and is a final warm up ahead of this summer’s delayed Olympic Games.

At the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O, she overcame Kobayashi with two wins in the best-of-three final.

Lee had earlier beaten another Japanese rider, Fuko Umekawa, in the sprint semi-finals – also with two wins in the best-of-three tie. Umekawa claimed the bronze medal, after beating compatriot Mina Sato in the third-place race.

Lee had also breezed through the quarters, with a win over Guatemala’s Joanne Nicole Rodriguez Hacohen, and was the top qualifier in the heats with a time of 10.664.

The Nations Cup, which began on Thursday and will end on Sunday, is Hong Kong’s first major international sporting event since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Riders are competing for qualifying points, for the World Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in October.