Can Hong Kong’s Olympic gold formula for fencing work again in cycling?
City’s cycling bosses are following a blueprint in pursuit of global success that they say they learned from the fencing team
Hong Kong’s elite cycling set-up has been revamped with the aim of copying the formula that turned the city’s leading fencers into world-beaters.
A high-end recruitment policy that brought in best practices from farther afield helped to power Cheung Ka-long and Vivian Kong Man-wai to Olympic fencing glory last summer. Now, Hong Kong is applying the logic to velodromes and pelotons.
The late-2023 exit of cycling head coach Shen Jinkang after 29 years in the post prompted a regime overhaul. Herve Dagorne, a two-time Olympian from France, was appointed as Shen’s successor. New Zealander Anthony Peden has since become sprint coach, and Ben Kersten, from Australia, the road endurance coach.
A common thread? Looking outside the previous sphere of influence for personnel and knowledge.
Bradley McGee, an Olympic team pursuit gold medallist in 2004 with Australia, attended the Hong Kong International Track Cup on Monday and could be the next high-profile appointment.
“I will meet [McGee], along with Herve; [whether he joins] is not just about if we want to hire him, it’s if he wants to live in the city,” Leung Hung-tak, chairman of the Cycling Association of Hong Kong, China, said.