May 1/15 10:13 am - 2015-16 Track World Cup #3 Announced

Posted by Editor on 05/1/15
 

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that Hong Kong will, for the first time, host a round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup on January 16-17, 2016.

Racing will take place at the Hong Kong Velodrome. The 250-metre track was inaugurated in December 2013 and has since hosted several international events, such as the 2014 Hong Kong International Track Cup (a UCI Class 1 event).

The venue is home to local hero Sarah Lee Wai-sze. The 27-year-old sprinter clinched a bronze medal in the Keirin at the London Olympics, handing Hong Kong its first ever Olympic medal in cycling. In 2013, Lee won the 500m Time Trial title at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk, Belarus.

Hong Kong continues Asia's longstanding commitment to host UCI World Cup rounds with Kunming and Beijing, both in China, Tokyo, Japan, and Astana, Kazakhstan having also welcomed major international series.

The 2015-2016 UCI Track Cycling World Cup will comprise the following rounds:

• Cali, Colombia, October 30th to November 1st, 2015
• Cambridge, New Zealand, December 5-6, 2015
• Hong Kong, January 16-17, 2016

The UCI Junior Track World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan (August 19-23, 2015) and the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London, Great Britain (March 2-6, 2016) complete the UCI International Track calendar.

UCI President Brian Cookson stated: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with the Cycling Association Hong Kong for the hosting of the final leg of our series. Riders and teams can now embark on the 2015-2016 Track Cycling season which will visit four continents with action ultimately heating up in London at the UCI World Championships."

Cycling Association of Hong Kong Chairman Hung-Tak Leung said: "Hosting the World Cup in Hong Kong will help promote track cycling in our community, so we can identify more talented riders systematically for high level performance training."