CALL     0418 949 509
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
    • XSPEED UNITED
    • X-Speed Hong Kong
    • X-SPEED GALLERY
    • JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT
    • XSPEED COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
    • CYCLING ROAD SAFETY
    • SPONSORS
    • X-SPEED TRAINING PROGRAMS
  • JOIN US
  • TRAINING
    • TRAINING CALENDAR
  • RACING
    • WA TRACK RACING CALENDAR
    • WA ROAD RACING CALENDAR
  • SCHOOLS
    • WAIS TALENT IDENTIFICATION
    • CYCLING SCHOOLS ACADEMY PROGRAM
  • XSPEED UNITED AUCTION
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
3 January

X-Speed Training and Racing Hong Kong

X-Speed Training and Racing Hong Kong – fast paced, eclectic and a culinary delight. Hong Kong is a tourist mecca situated on the southeast coast of China. It’s the home of cycle clothing manufacturer Champion System, world champion Sarah Lee Wai-sze and boasts a magnificent velodrome built in 2013 which has played host to a world cup and last year’s world track championships.

Track

The velodrome is situated in the New Territories district of Tseung Kwan O and offers:

  • crèche
  • coffee shop
  • individual bike lock up cages
  • free use of the venue owned Argon 18 track bikes
  • two free track training sessions and one pay as you go session per week

The venue is a 5 minute walk from the local Hang Hau MTR tube station and this is how many of the juniors arrive for training, making their own way to and from the complex for the evening sessions.

The back straight….which looks like the front straight! X-Speed training and racing Hong Kong

Free use of the Venue’s Argon 18 track bikes

Individual bike storage lockers

The Hong Kong National Team still train on Mainland China, and like Perth, the venue remains under utilised. On my first visit to the track to watch an X Speed session, it was a surprise to see Sarah Lee in residence and pumping out some TS drills. Sarah, 31, has a long road in front of her to Tokyo in 2020 and may again carry the nations hopes of another Olympic medal in track sprinting.

Chatting with Sarah Lee

However, echoing the sentiment we hear at home, president of the Chinese Cycling Association, Coach Shen laments the difficulty of junior development.

“Many western countries have a strong club system at grass-roots level and China has a school program, but Hong Kong relies heavily on the governing body.”

“We need to sit down and think about the future seriously or we will have no riders to take up the baton at senior level very soon,”

“The success of Sarah Lee Wai-sze and Wong Kam-po does not mean Hong Kong is a powerhouse in cycling. Indeed, it is also their success that has masked many development problems of the sport. Hong Kong cycling still has a long way to go before we can call ourselves a powerhouse.”

X Speed training and racing Hong Kong, under the guidance of Andrew Szteo, is the club developing local youth to provide the national team with their next crop of talent.

And it’s no easy job.

Road

Culturally cycling is seen as a recreational activity more than a sport. With a population of nearly 8 million the road system isn’t exactly conducive to road training or racing. With a couple of favored training circuits used in the early morning, the remainder is all ergo work.

Roller sessions are held at the top of an old industrial building in Fo Tan. A small, shared room houses the club equipment and many of the bikes for ease of access.

Space comes at a premium here with local apartments the size of the ladies bathroom at the SpeedDome selling for more than $1 million dollars. Hong Kong may be a financial and trade world hub but with the discrepancy between real estate prices and the average wage, parents here value their child’s education over and above a future in sport.

Given the cultural dynamic and economy, the work done by X-Speed training and racing Hong Kong is incredible. Governments are lobbied, sponsors engaged, roads are closed for racing and events are organised. Maybe a larger scale international alliance is on the way with a Pro Conti team to further develop the sport.

Thank you for hosting me Andrew, Chris and Teresa. We look forward to X-Speed training and racing Hong Kong camps and events now in planning for the 2018-2019 seasons.

  • Road Racing
  • Road Training
  • Training
  • Velodrome Racing
  • Velodrome Training
  • coaching
  • Cycling
  • Hong Kong
  • junior cycling tour
  • junior development
  • junior track cycling
  • midland cycling
  • midland road cycling
  • midland track cycling
  • perth velodrome
  • Road Cycling in Hong Kong
  • Road Racing
  • Track Cycling In Hong Kong
  • Track Cycling In WA
  • velodrome racing
  • X-Speed training and racing Hong Kong
xspeedadmin August 18, 2017
THE-HEART-&-MIND-OF-EXERCISE-&-TRAINING
xspeed-australia
Saddle Sores - Prevention is better than Cure 6

Recent Posts

  • International Alliance Establish New Continental Team
  • Canada Australia Hong Kong form Cycling Alliance
  • Navigating junior gearing and roll outs
  • Hong Kong Track Cup Media release
  • X-Speed Training and Racing Hong Kong

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • October 2018
    • May 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017

    Categories

    • Road Racing
    • Road Training
    • Training
    • Uncategorised
    • Velodrome Racing
    • Velodrome Training

    Copyright © 2022 XSpeed Australia Cycle Club | All Rights Reserved. Designed and Produced by Pineapple Planet