Korean superstar Im Chae-bin made it a hat-trick of wins in Korean keirin’s biggest annual race, with victory at the Gwangmyeong Speedom on Monday.

As in Japan, Korean keirin holds a year-end Grand Prix race between the year’s top performers, with bumper prize money on offer – although not on the same scale as the Japanese jackpot.

The race had been hotly anticipated as another duel between the two men who have dominated Korean competition in recent years, Im Chae-bin and Jeong Jong-jin.

The 34-year-old Chae-bin’s record is truly staggering, winning all but two of his 60 races in 2025: but the two races he didn’t win, he finished second to Jong-jin, himself a five-time Grand Prix winner.

Chae-bin 2 slotted into the line directly behind Jong-jin 6 as the purple-clad pacer left the track with two laps remaining.

Jong-jin powered to the front as they entered the final lap, but Chae-bin was on his wheel, and looking comfortable.

Chae-bin rose from his saddle out of the final bend, and surged past his arch rival at the last moment, to win by half a bike-length.