Three Viennese on board

Track cycling aces live on a yacht in Hong Kong

Vienna's track cycling aces are staying on this yacht in Hong Kong.(Bild: Wafler)

Living on a yacht in Hong Kong. What sounds like an exclusive vacation in Asia is actually one of the cheapest ways to find accommodation in the Asian metropolis for three Viennese track cycling aces at the Nations Cup. Tim Wafler, Max Schmidbauer and Raphael Kokas are staying in floating accommodation with coach Andreas Graf.

This weekend, the penultimate Nations Cup for track cyclists before the Olympics will take place in Hong Kong. For Austria, there are still important points at stake for the Olympic qualification. "In the omnium competition, we are as good as guaranteed," says Roland Wafler. His son Tim is currently preparing for the competitions on Saturday and Sunday in the Asian metropolis with his colleagues Schmidbauer and Kokas.

In their search for affordable accommodation, the trio and coach Andreas Graf finally found what they were looking for. A yacht. "But it's not on a jetty or anywhere else on the shore, it's only accessible by water cab," Tim explains. The athletes sleep, cook, eat and live there, along with their coach and physiotherapist.

Tim, who only made a name for himself in January with a silver medal in the non-Olympic scratch competition at the European Championships, did not travel to Asia in good shape. The 22-year-old caught a cold during a road race in the pouring rain in Istria and is not yet back to 100 percent. "But he'll handle it well tactically and not ride too many attacks," says father and coach Roland, who believes in the abilities of his son, who will start in the omnium on Saturday.

Wafler, Kokas and Schmidbauer on their floating accommodation.(Bild: Wafler)

For Kokas and Schmidbauer, things will get serious on Sunday in the Madison pairs discipline: "We'll be competing with the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland for the last place at the Olympic Games."