Asia's 'god of cycling' bags a hat-trick

GUANGZHOU - It might have been the longest 15 minutes in Wong Kam Po's 16 years at the Asian Games.

Wong Kam Po of Hong Kong raises his hand to protest a violation by Park Sung-baek of Korea at the finish line of the men's individual road race on Monday. [Photo/China Daily]?

In between finishing the men's individual road race 0.01 of a second behind Korea's Park Sung-baek on Monday and waiting for the judges to deliberate on a called foul, the 37-year-old Hong Kong racer must have wondered whether the gods were on his side.

As it turns out, they were, and the man dubbed Asia's "god of cycling" picked up his third title in five Asiads, having finished the 180-kilometer race in four hours, 14 minutes and 54.18 seconds, while the Korean was relegated to 19th place for swerving.

Takashi Miyazawa of Japan, who trailed Wong by 15/100 of a second, moved up to second spot and China's Zou Rongxi collected the bronze medal.

"I was a little nervous, but confident when waiting for the judgment," said Wong.

"The Korean's foul was quite obvious. But even if I got the silver, I'd still be satisfied with today's performance."

Wong, who won his first Asiad title at Bangkok 1998 and his second at Busan 2002, has since emerged as one of Hong Kong's most influential sports icons.

"I wasn't competing with the mindset that this is my last Asian Games, because that would have influenced by performance," said Wong, who also has an Asian Games bronze medal.

He admitted that he wasn't sure before the race if he still has the muscle to pull through over such a fearsome distance.

"I just did everything I could to be at my best before and during the competition," he said.

"Cycling is a collective event, and it's very hard to win because all your opponents keep their eye on you if you go in as the favorite."

Shen Jinkang, head coach of the Hong Kong cycling team, spoke highly of his star's performance.

"He did quite well today, and I feel this was the toughest match for Wong, even harder than the track races at the world championships," said Shen.

"The road race requires courage and comprehensive skills to tackle various unexpected situations, and it's very physically demanding."

It also requires a little luck, which on Monday favored Wong instead of Park.

The Korean camp was quite vocal in expressing its belief that the punishment handed to its top racer was unfair, especially as it was decided by a panel made up largely of Chinese and Japanese judges. Several other riders in the event said it was a little harsh as maintaining a straight line in the race is not always easy.