We now have a little more detail of what awaits the international stars invited to race in Japan this summer, in the Keirin World Series.
Provisional start lists for the first two events in the series have been published – revealing, somewhat unexpectedly, that we will not see all six foreign guests at all the events.
The series gets underway with a meet at Hofu from 3-5 June, featuring Harrie Lavreysen and returning British star Joe Truman in the men’s competition; on the women’s side, it looks like it’ll be Mathilde Gros and Ellesse Andrews.
Then at the end of the month, in Kokura – the city which hosted the first ever keirin event in 1948 – Truman will be joined by his countryman Matthew Richardson, whilst Andrews will have Hetty van de Wouw for company.
The men’s events will be five races of seven riders each day; the women’s will be two races of 7 riders.
The men’s events will consist only of S1 and S2-ranked riders – meaning we won’t see them competing against the sport’s current superstars.
Japanese website More Cadence picks out notable names like Hirotomo Shimizu, who has competed in 6 Keirin Grand Prix, most recently in 2024; and Yudai Nitta, with 7 Grand Prix appearances to his name, the last in 2022. Track Piste also highlights national team rider Ryuto Ichida, winner at the prestigious Austral Wheelrace in Melbourne this past December ahead of Azizulhasni Awang.
But the lists also include several men well into their 50s: world 200 record-holder Richardson could line up alongside Hisayuki Nasu – the Rookie Champion back in 1993; and Masayoshi Kakura – Keirin King in 1998, and only a few weeks away from marking 25 years in the professional ranks.
Women’s keirin is not graded in the same way, meaning there is potential to see the visiting stars racing against the top female stars during the series. The notable names at these first two events are Fuko Umekawa, twice second at Girls Grand Prix, and currently ranked in the country’s top 10, who retired from UCI competition in 2024; and Nao Suzuki, who reached her first G1 final at the All Girls Classic last week.
