The UCI’s confirmation of an agreement to resume international riders’ participation in Japanese keirin has been received a lukewarm response from the track cycling community.
Deep iIn a press release issued following the meeting of its Management Committee at the end of January, the UCI stated:
The UCI Management Committee was informed of the conclusion of an agreement between the UCI and the Japan Keirin Autorace Foundation (JKA) allowing the return of international athletes to the Japanese keirin circuit and reinstating a framework that existed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of international athletes concerned will be limited to six (three men and three women), with a calendar ensuring no conflict with the major track events on the UCI International Calendar.
This return will take place under strict conditions relating to sporting integrity, including competition manipulation and anti-doping. The agreement reflects the shared objective of the UCI and the JKA to promote athletes and enhance the visibility of track cycling. The athletes who will take part in the 2026 edition will be announced at a later date.
Regular readers will know this really only repeats the detail from the JKA’s announcement more than six months ago.
The reaction from various commentators hasn’t been as positive as the UCI might have wanted.
TrackPiste.com comments that the visibility of track cycling will not be enhanced by inviting such a small group of specialists to earn a nice little bonus for a few months’ work. What would work, he suggests, is a project to replicate the successful Japanese model in the UCI’s ‘impoverished’ space – whether led by the UCI itself, or the JKA, or by another body. A project which has been attempted, he notes – linking to earlier DerbyWheel coverage, but not naming it in his text! – ‘and we all know how that turned out.’
Baanwacht.nl puts it even more strongly, describing the UCI’s position as hypocrisy – with the UCI blocking the gambling-backed DerbyWheel project, whilst supporting guest appearances by international stars in Japan’s gambling-fuelled competition.
Global Keirin‘s own position on the subject will not come as a surprise to anyone.
We naturally welcome the reopening of the ‘forbidden door’ between UCI and JKA competition. But a nice summer holiday and a few (relatively) big pay-days for six selected foreign riders will only serve to highlight the contrast between the two systems.
It will do nothing to boost track cycling outside Japan: it’s doubtful whether the international media will even notice.
The UCI should not be thinking about what it can generously send to Japan. It should be thinking about what it can learn from Japan.