Head coach Herve Dagorne said his star pair of Ceci Lee Sze-wing and Chloe Leung Wing-yee were “not proud of themselves” after the golden glow of Saturday gave way to dark disappointment on Sunday for Hong Kong’s cyclists.
Pivotal members of the six-strong team that clinched Asian Road Cycling Championships time trial mixed relay gold at the beginning of the weekend in Saudi Arabia, Lee and Leung had been fancied to add to the city squad’s two-medal haul in the women’s road race on Sunday.
Caught napping by an early breakaway, however, they never recovered, as rival teams with riders in the leading pack neutered any Hong Kong attempts to make up ground.
Lee finished 11th after completing the flat 109.2km (67.9-mile) course in two hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds, 37.92 seconds slower than winner Zhang Hao, who clocked 2:45:12 to add gold to the time trial bronze she earned on Thursday.
The first Chinese winner since Tang Kerong in 2009, Zhang narrowly beat second-placed Nafosat Kozieva of Uzbekistan and South Korea’s Shin Ji-eun, who claimed bronze.
Coach Herve Dagorne (right) praised Ceci Lee (left) for not giving up the fight. Photo: Eugene Lee
Leung and sister Boey Leung Bo-yee were 21st and 28th, respectively.