One rider notably absent from the UCI’s Track World Cup in Nilai was the organisation’s world champion, Mina Sato.

She opted to stay at home, and defend her All Girls Classic G1 title, her seventh G1 title in all – and a continuation of her streak in the sport’s top-graded events.

Sato’s recent record in domestic keirin is remarkable. She is now unbeaten in individual races in a full calendar year: the last time someone finished ahead of her was day two of the same event last year – and of course, she avenged that defeat the following day.

Sunday’s victory was never really in doubt. Sato, in white, surged to the front with a lap remaining – and only Riyu Ohta could stay with her. Ohta emerged from Sato’s slipstream, hoping to slingshot out of the final corner – but she couldn’t even get alongside.

Sato’s win in Friday’s Tiara Cup – in a field of top-ranked competitors like Kodama, Ozaki and Umekawa – was even more striking. She entered the final lap in fifth, with a big gap ahead to fourth. Half a lap later, she was in the lead, and disappearing into the distance. The official result says the margin of victory was a ‘large difference’.

Sato’s reward for her weekend’s work: an oversized cheque for 12 million yen – US$75,000, or €64,000.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, Wang Lijuan earned €625 (US$ 733) – yes, over 100 times less – for her triumph against the likes of Finucane, Cuadrado, and the Japan-bound van de Wouw. (source: UCI PDF)

There’s a curious imbalance in women’s keirin right now, highlighted by Sato’s hopping between domestic and UCI competition. The Japanese domestic scene is financially so much stronger than the UCI’s model – and getting stronger every year. But Sato is better than everyone else in Japan by a ‘large difference’.

Is it beyond our sport’s greatest minds to find a way to combine the strongest business model with the strongest sporting proposition?