Japan’s keirin authorities have announced the schedule for next year’s Keirin World Series. The races move to an autumn timeframe to avoid clashes with the 2027 World Championships, which take place in late August as part of a French ‘super worlds’.
As in 2026, almost all the meetings will be at the everyday FI level, open to men ranked S, A1 or A2, with a single event at the higher G III level at Beppu in mid-October. This means contests with the superstars of the Japanese scene are highly unlikely.
Women’s keirin does not apply the same tiered structure, meaning appearances by the big names are more likely – but in 2026, for example, we only saw Mina Sato once during the Series.
Wakayama and Kokura featured in the 2026 programme. Wakayama hosted last year’s G III event, with Joseph Truman ending Harrie Lavreysen‘s 12-race winning streak, and claiming the biggest prize of the series. The impressive indoor arena at Kokura, the birthplace of keirin featured early in the 2026 schedule, with Hetty van de Wouw winning the women’s event; Truman was third in the men’s final.
The riders invited to participate in 2027 have not yet been named. Last year, their identities were revealed only 3 months before the first event.
| Dates | Venue | Level | Time of day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 18 – Mon 20 September | Hiratsuka | F I | Night |
| Sat 25 – Mon 27 September | Wakayama | F I | Daytime |
| Mon 4 – Wed 6 October | Tamano | F I | Daytime |
| Sat 16 – Tue 19 October | Beppu | G III | Night |
| Sun 24 – Tue 26 October | Kokura | F I | Daytime |
| Tue 2 – Thu 4 November | Toride | F I | Daytime |
| Thu 11 – Sat 13 November | Kochi | F I | Daytime |
| Thu 25 – Sat 27 November | Nagoya | F I | Daytime |
