Japan’s Mina Sato and Kento Yamazaki, winners of the women’s and men’s keirin at the 2024 UCI world championships, have revealed their customised rainbow jerseys in posts on team Rakuten K Dreams’s X feed.

The ‘special new practice jerseys’ seem quite normal from the front, albeit without a UCI logo. But things are quite different on the back, with each rider having their names emblazoned in a huge font across the shoulders – and a cartoon portrait on the back pockets.

Since winning their world titles, the two riders have returned to the Japanese pro keirin circuit: they both turned down invitations to compete in the UCI Track Champions League in favour of more lucrative opportunities at home. They have been wearing the usual coloured keirin uniforms, instead of rainbow stripes.

Yamazaki’s form has dipped somewhat since Ballerup – he made the S-Class final of January’s HPCJC Cup, supporting the High Performance Centre of Japanese Cycling, but his last-lap attack didn’t stick, and his national team colleague Kaiya Ota took the win.

Sato could only manage second in the Girls Grand Prix at the end of December, but it was the only Japanese race she didn’t win in 2024; and she has 3 wins from 3 starts in the early weeks of 2025.

The Asian Track Cycling Championships take place in Nilai, Malaysia, starting this coming Friday: but so far we haven’t been able to find start lists or schedules.