# Japanese keirin success at Worlds: an opportunity to expand the sport?

*By Simon | October 21, 2024*

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![UCI 2024 Track World Championships Ballerup](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/AW7_7575_1.jpg)

## 󠀁[Japanese keirin success at Worlds: an opportunity to expand the sport?](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/10/japanese-keirin-success-at-worlds-an-opportunity-to-expand-the-sport/)󠁿

21 October 2024

It has taken a little longer than they had hoped; but Japan’s investment in
international track cycling is beginning to produce results.

French sprint coach Benoît Vêtu was appointed head coach of the Japanese
national track team in 2016, following successful spells in Russia and China.
His objective? To deliver medals at their home Olympics – with a particular eye
on keirin, Japan’s own event.

He drove a car with
[license plate number 20 20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdboYNQYKIA), a
daily reminder of his mission.

But the team won only a silver in the women’s omnium at Tokyo – and nothing at
all in Paris three years later.

Fast forward a couple of months, and Japan finished fourth in the overall medal
table at 2024’s Track World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark – behind the
traditional powerhouses of the Netherlands and Great Britain, plus hosts
Denmark.

And particularly satisfyingly, Japan took both the
[men’s](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/10/joy-for-japan-as-yamasaki-claims-keirin-rainbows/)
and
[women’s](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/10/mina-sato-brings-a-second-keirin-title-home-to-japan/)
keirin, with wins for Kento Yamasaki and Mina Sato, and Kazushige Kuboki also
taking the men’s scratch.

The team had claimed six silver and bronze medals in keirin in the previous six
years, but had previously been unable to add to the nation’s only gold: Harumi
Honda, winning in Vienna back in 1987.

‘It took us 8 years to finally bring the keirin back to where it was born,’ Vêtu
wrote [on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DBYldl6OHZy/). ‘Now, thanks to
this new generation of exceptional riders and their equally outstanding staff,
we’ve made it. I knew it would happen one day, but you’re never ready for these
emotions. I know this is only the beginning.’

### Quietly permitted

Both [Yamasaki](http://keirin.jp/pc/racerprofile?snum=015213) and
[Sato](http://keirin.jp/pc/racerprofile?snum=015306) have competed in both UCI
and Japanese pro keirin competition. Sato has been particularly successful,
winning last year’s showcase Girls Keirin Grand Prix in decisive fashion.

_Mina Sato (1) powers to victory in the 2023 Girls Grand Prix_

And of course, numerous international riders have been invited to compete on the
Japanese circuit, including Joe Truman and Katy Marchant in recent years, both
of whom won medals for Great Britain at Ballerup.

Japanese keirin operates outside the jurisdiction of the UCI, but individual
riders have been quietly permitted to cross from one to the other, without
triggering UCI disciplinary sanctions.

However, when DerbyWheel proposed to create a full racing organisation, based
around gambling revenues as in Japan, the UCI announced that it would
[enforce its rules](https://globalkeirin.com/derbywheel-and-the-uci/) around
participation in non-UCI events. DerbyWheel was declared a ‘forbidden event’,
and riders were told to expect disciplinary action including fines and
suspensions.

### Standing by

There has been no progress in resolving the situation, with DerbyWheel CEO James
Pope revealing that the UCI was
[refusing to even meet](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/07/derbywheel-ceo-we-dont-want-a-war-but-uci-wont-even-meet-with-us/)
with him.

The success of two Japanese keirin competitors at the UCI’s biggest annual event
provides an opportunity to connect the Japanese sport with the international
community, for mutual benefit.

And through DerbyWheel, there are literally hundreds of riders standing by,
eager to help make it happen… and patiently waiting for progress.

The first test of the new champions’ loyalties could come within weeks: both are
certain to receive invitations to compete in the
[UCI Track Champions League](https://www.ucitrackchampionsleague.com), but they
are both already committed to pro keirin events in late November.

**Categories:** Original
**Tags:** ballerup2024, dwnews, japan, uci