The six foreign riders invited to compete in Japanese domestic keirin competition this summer have been revealed, in synchronised announcements from the JKA and – notably – the UCI.
It was confirmed back in October that invitations to international stars would resume in 2026. The last appearance by foreign riders in Japanese keirin was pre-pandemic, in 2019.
Japanese fans will be able to watch world sprinting’s two biggest male stars, Harrie Lavreysen and Matthew Richardson, joined on the men’s side by European kilo champion Joseph Truman, who competed in Japan in 2018 and 2019.
Also returning to Japan is Mathilde Gros: she will be joined by Ellesse Andrews and Hetty van de Wouw, both first-timers.
The foreign riders’ participation follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UCI and JKA, formalising a previously unwritten agreement. The official website of Japanese keirin lists 131 international riders who have competed there since 1990.
A UCI press release states: ‘This return will take place under strict conditions relating to sporting integrity – including competition manipulation and anti-doping – as well as ensuring that there is no conflict between the Japanese events and major track events on the UCI International Calendar.
‘The agreement reflects the shared objective of the UCI and the JKA to promote athletes and enhance the visibility of track cycling.’
The Keirin World Series will consist of 10 events between early June and the start of September.
The men’s events will be classed at FI level, with a single event at GIII level in early August. These are middle-grade events in the Japanese keirin structure, not the big-money spectacles for which the country’s competition is renowned. FI-level races are open to all but the lowest-ranked riders; GIII events are open only to the ~30% of riders in the S-ranks.
Girls Keirin is not graded in the same way, so it’s possible that we will see the foreign stars facing some of Japan’s top female riders.
The formalised arrangement follows a meeting at the UCI’s Aigle headquarters last July. UCI president David Lappartient tweeted: ‘Together, we had productive discussions focused on the ongoing development of Track Cycling. I look forward to strengthening our collaboration and shaping a shared vision for the future of Cycling in the region.’
The framing of the riders’ participation as a UCI-backed initiative is especially interesting. It shows that the world governing body is comfortable with the notion of track cycling existing primarily for the purpose of gambling, in the right circumstances. Organisers of the DerbyWheel initiative to deliver a globalised version of the same model may take some encouragement from this.