TAGAYTAY CITY — Para cyclist Patrick Gerard Lee is setting his sights on a glorious performance in the 20th Asian Para Games after plucking a bronze medal in the Asian Para Track Cycling Championships at the Tagaytay CT Velodrome here.
The 26-year-old Lee said he saw his performance improve despite training for just two weeks for this prestigious tournament where all of the best para cyclists in Asia are seeing action.
The Bulacan native posted five minutes and 11 seconds to finish eighth in the men’s C5 individual pursuit on Tuesday. Prior to that, he emerged as the only Filipino to grab a podium finish after finishing third in the men’s C5 scratch race last Sunday.
“The training felt easier, and we saw that improvement is possible. With more training time, we believe we can catch up with the competition,” said Lee, who is determined to continue honing his skills in track cycling ahead of the Asian Para Games that is set in Nagoya from 18 to 24 October.
“Our main target is the Asian Para Games in Japan, since the points there will count toward Paralympic qualification.”
National para cycling head coach Bert Oconer agrees, saying their goal now is to breach the 4:50-mark if they want to keep up with powerhouse countries like Japan, China and Korea.
“We didn’t have a very specific target because we lacked enough reference data. Based on previous Asian Cycling Championships, times were around 4:50, so we know we still have a long way to go,” said Oconer, a two-time Olympic cyclist.