Cyclist Vincent Lau wins bronze in time trial

Hong Kong cyclist Vincent Lau Wan-yau earned himself a bronze medal on Tuesday in the men's individual time trial event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, with Hong Kong now two medals short of matching the city’s best-ever Games haul of 46 medals five years ago in Jakarta.

The 27-year-old cyclist clocked a time of 50 minutes and 17.76 seconds to earn himself a spot on the podium. Lau was in second place when reaching the halfway point of 20.4 kilometers, with Kazakhstan’s Alexey Lutsenko leading in first place by 59.46 seconds.

He was later pushed down to third by China’s Xue Ming, who finished with a time of 50 minutes and 05.83 seconds.

His medal, nonetheless, is Hong Kong's first ever in the event at the Asian Games.

“I guess I did well with my time,” said Lau, who had finished down in 12th place at the Asian Championships only four months ago.

“A Games medal did cross my mind [before the race], but I wasn’t really setting a target. I just wanted to do the best I could. The time today was the best I’ve recorded on this track since I started training here last year.

“I’m satisfied with my performance and grateful for my teammates, who spurred me on with their cheers. It’s a team effort and everyone played their part.” Lau added.

Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Hong Kong’s Chloe Leung Wing-yee was only 14 seconds shy of a podium place, finishing fourth with a time of 25 minutes and 50.36 seconds.