World Wide Cycling
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Press Release:
4-1-2004:
Mifune
surprises World and Olympic Champions Great
event in Asia’s dynamic World City!! The
inaugural edition of the Hong Kong Cycle Classic was surprisingly won by
Masahiko Mifune from Japan. The 34-year old rider from the CMS World Wide
Cycling Team made his move in the final lap breaking clear from the fastest
sprinters in the first group: Brett Aitken, Sergey Koudentsov and Scott McGrory
and beating Cameron Hughes and Milan Dovrschik on the line. With riders like
Aitken, Koudentsov, Mc Grory, Grishkin, Risi, Stocher and Ijima, taking 6th
to 12th, the win of the strong Japanese rider can be called a big
surprise. The
course along the International Exhibition Center, one of the main landmarks on
the coast of Hong Kong Island, knew quite some corners and this made it easier
for groups to break away from the 100 rider field. As the speed was high from
the beginning, many riders with less experience, especially from the Chinese and
local Hong Kong teams dropped off the field early. With
a lot of money in the points classment and sprints every two laps, there was
fierce sprinting from the second lap and soon some riders broke clear. When the
Hong Kong Stars team (David Millar, Robert Hayles, Bruno Risi, Franz Stocher,
Scott McGrory) had two riders in the front and also the Bicisport Team from
Australia and the World Wide Cycling Team had two riders up there, things
started to look serious. As Sergey Koudentsov from the Moscow Omnisport team was
jumping over quickly, the break of the day was formed. Mifune and Bradford,
Aitken and Hughes, McGrory and Hayles were the combinations, with Bushanski,
Koudentsov and Dovrschik on their own. The Hong Kong stars team had two riders
in the front, Millar had his friend Hayles there and also the strong teams from
Moscow, Bicisport and World Wide Cycling sat back. Wong Kam Po tried to put his
team on the front, but ended up doing the work by himself and the technical
circuit did not really suit him. He did get some support from the Marco Polo
riders and the national team from Japan, but they also did not succeed in
bringing the gap back to less then 40 seconds. As
the speed went up when the field started chasing, Hayles fell off the first
group, just like his friend David Millar did in the field. The world champion
time trial did not look fit at all and had to give up just a few laps before the
end and even collapsed when he got off the bike. He was all right again after
laying down for a few minutes. So
the maximum lead of 1 minute 15 was enough to give the leading group some space
to play and especially Australians Chris Bradford and Cameron Hughes were very
active in their efforts for their team leaders: Brett Aitken and Masahiko
Mifune. When Bradford attacked with just over one lap to go, Hughes was the
first to follow him and Mifune was not far. Dovrschik saw the danger and also
brought Bushanski to the leaders. Fast men Koudentsov, Aitken and points winner
McGrory were looking at each other and waited too long. They were just able to
see that Mifune sprinted towards the victory easily. There
were a few thousand spectators, not as much as was hoped for, but experience
learns that an event like this needs to be built up in a couple of years. The
Hong Kong Cycling Association looks back on a successful event, with a lot of
publicity in Hong Kong and Asia and hopes to be able to organise many more
editions of the Hong Kong Cycle Classic in Asia’s World City.
2-1-2004:
At
the start of 2004, the cycling world points its eyes towards Hong Kong, where
Hong Kong Cycle Classic takes place. Asia’s dynamic world city offers great
scenery for the first pro-crit in 2004, that will be held on the 4th
of January at 8:30 in the morning, between the skyscrapers of downtown Hong
Kong. The field includes several Olympic and World Champions, including the
world time trial champion David Millar. Favourites
for the Hong Kong Cycle Classic include many participants from the Tour of South
China Sea, that has just been held in Hong Kong, South China and Macao. The
biggest riders however still have to arrive in Hong Kong: David
Millar (world Champion Time Trial), Scott McGrory (Olympic Champion Madison);
Bruno Risi (6 times world Champion, current WC Madison);
Robert Hayles (silver medal World Championships Team pursuit) and Franz
Stocher (World Champion points race) will be present. Olympic Champion Brett
Aitken is in Hong Kong, but had to draw back from the Tour and it is still
unsure if he will be able to take part in the first HKCC. For
Millar the 4th of Januari will be a special day. It is not only his
birthday, but Millar was also raised in Hong Kong, where he started cycling! His
father still lives there, so the tall rider with the Scottish nationality will
be looking for a nice present to celebrate his birthday!! The
riders that showed their form and had a good preparation in the South China Sea
Tour include Hong Kong’s own Kam Po Wong, a well known Asian top-rider,
winning many medals in Asian and Chinese Championships and with a proven record
of beating the European pro’s. Wong
showed great form in the 8-day Tour of South China Sea, that just ended and in
which he finished second after courageous, but not very clever racing. Also
Oleg Grishkin from Russia and Brett Aitken from Australia can be counted among
the favourites after the Tour of South China Sea. Both of them delivered some
very impressive sprints, making Grishkin the overall Tour winner, but Olympic
Madison Champion Brett Aitken had to drop out of the South China Sea Tour
because of a knee injury and is not sure to start the Hong Kong Cycle Classic at
this moment. Grishkin has the important advantage of having a strong team around
him, whereas other riders only have the support of one or two team mates strong
enough to do something in the final. Sergei Koudentsov is absolutely the first
outsider in the HKCC, as he won two stages in the Tour around the pearl river
delta, that has just ended. The CMS World Wide Cycling Team from Hong Kong may
have some outsiders, with fast sprinters Samai and Wanwan from Indonesia (next
year new Wismilak Trade Team 3 from Indonesia) Masahiko Mifune (traditionally
strong in this race) and powerhouse Chris Bradford from Australia. Just like the
Marco Polo Cycling Team with Chris Baumann from the USA and Felix Rohrbach from
Germany. Other
strong outsiders: Makato Ijima from Japan and Hung Hsu Ying Chie from Chinese
Taipei, they had good results during the last eight days. The teams of KED
Bianchi (GER), Ducla Trancin (SLO) and Kazakhstan will also be close to the
winners. Ducla Praha has been mentioned as the only team coming from the South
China Tour, not taking part in the Hong Kong Classic. The
course of the Hong Kong Cycle Classic, is a 2.4 km lap between the skyscrapers
and along the sea, near the Exhibition Center. With totally 40 laps to cover,
the race will finish after 96 km. As there is no altitude difference and the
corners are wide, the race will know a very high average speed, offering chances
for the fast sprinters. With many track riders in their six days form present,
the winner may come from this side of the field. The riders that did the Tour of
South China Sea may however have an advantage over the new arrivals. Or… will
David Millar show his Hong Kong fans why he is the World Champion time trial and
give a solo demonstration of his power!!??
17-12-2003
David
Millar celebrates in Hong Kong Cycle Classic On
the 4th of January 2004 the inaugural edition of the Hong Kong Cycle
Classic will take place. The race will be 96 kilometres long and the course is
just over 2.4 kilometres, located in the Wanchai and Admiralty District, between
the impressive skyscrapers of the dynamic metropole. Participants
of the Cycle Classic in Asia’s World City include the World Champion Time
Trial David Millar, who was born and raised in Hong Kong AND has his birthday on
the 4th of January!! Track stars present will include Bruno Risi (6 times
World Champion), Scott McGrory (Olympic gold medallist madison) and Franz
Stocher (World Champion points race). Some other top riders to be presented
later. The biggest part of the field will be formed by riders from teams that
participate in the Tour of South China Sea (UCI 2.5) that finishes a few days
before on Macao. The Tour of South China Sea starts from Hong Kong and passes
through South China before finishing in Macao. Teams
in both races include Hong Kong’s Marco Polo Cycling Team, Webcor USA; Dukla
Praha Czech Republic; Giant Asia Racing Team Taiwan; Mroz Poland and Chinese and
Kazakhstan national teams as well as some amateur teams from Europe, USA and
Australia. The total field will be over 100 riders. Amongst the favourites is of
course also Kam Po Wong, Hong Kong’s superstar, member of the Marco Polo
Cycling Team.
Mr
Frederick Chan, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Cycling Association is very
pleased to be able to host and organise the event. “This has been a dream of
us for years. We are really delighted that it is possible now to have the event
in the great scenery of downtown Hong Kong, with world stars lined up to
participate!! Of course the participation of David Millar, whom we still know
from childhood, is another dream coming true and I want to especially thank the
World Wide Cycling organisation (management Marco Polo Cycling Club) for their
efforts to find a world class field for this race! Of course also Leisure and
Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have
made this event possible, cannot be thanked enough! This
is another proof that cycling has a high standard in Hong Kong, next to the Tour
of South China Sea, the results of our national team and the Marco Polo Cycling
Trade Team.” David
Millar himself: “It is great for cycling that this event can be held in Hong
Kong. Let’s hope there will be more races like this on exciting places all
over the world. For me it is even more special, as it is on my birthday and I am
happy to be able to celebrate this in Hong Kong, where I grew up and where my
father lives!” Cor Vos, the famous cycling photographer from Holland will be covering the race: “Downtown Hong Kong offers great scenery, which I will try to capture in my pictures. I hear that even more cycling-celebrities may be coming, so I can’t wait to start shooting and spread the images over the world!”
Race information:
Hong
Kong Cycle Classic The
inaugural edition of the Hong Kong Cycle Classic will take place on January 4
2004. Invited are some of the world’s best cyclists amongst them World- and
Olympic Champions who will compete for victory on mid city streets of
Hong Kong. Among the participants is David Millar, the current World Champion
individual time trial. Being
the first pro-race of 2004 will add to the excitement as cyclists compete for
the honour and glory of the season's first win. The
2.4 kilometre course will be a fast and exciting demonstration of top Pro
cyclist's in action as they weave through the fast but also technical course at
high speed. An added dimension is the inclusion of many track riders who excel
at this type of racing. So
what can we expect on the 4th of January in the first pro-race of the year. Most
participants in the race have raced in the Tour of South China Sea, a UCI
international stage race, which finished on January 1st. This fast
Tour is the perfect preparation and with 2 days to recuperate they will be in
great shape to put on a good performance in the Hong Kong Cycle Classic. Some
of these riders are from Australia and South Africa, countries that have their
summer now which means that these riders are in the middle of their season and
in top condition giving them chances for the victory on Hong Kong’s
streets. But
they will have to compete against the absolute best cyclists of the world,
amongst whom are very fast sprinters who will want to keep the group together
like those from Indonesia and the USA not to mention the Pro riders such as
Bruno Risi or Franz Stocher, World Champions and specialist in points races on
the track. However
other riders will try to break-away in a group or by themselves. For example
someone like Scott Mc Grory, Olympic Champion in the Madison, a discipline on
the track where teams of two riders take turns. These riders have the
ability to break-away in a small group or by themselves and maintain a high
speed for long periods of time. Rob Hayles, who is vice- World Champion in the
team pursuit, is also a strong bet for a break-away in a group or alone. Finally of
course the ultimate specialist for a solo break-away is the current World
Champion in the Individual Time Trial David Millar. And it is a very
special day for David, on the 4th of January he celebrates his birthday so he
can give himself a very special birthday present… So
that is the battle , between those who want to contain the race and make it a
furious last dash to the line and others who want to tear the field wide open
and win alone or from a small group. Finally
we must mention Hong Kong's own Kam Po Wong. Kam Po has the ability to attack
and race by himself, but also has a very fast sprint. This combination gives him
chances to beat the European professionals, which he has done several times in
the past. He will also have the great motivation to race in this great event in
his hometown. Everything
is possible but one thing is for sure; we will see great cycling sports at
January 4 in Hong Kong.
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