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What’s in a name? Not the first ‘Derby’… not the first ‘Derby Wheel’
One of the many challenges facing an organisation seeking to launch a whole new sporting competition to a global audience, is choosing a suitable name. It needs to be unclaimed. It needs to be memorable. It needs to work, and be easy to say, in multiple languages. The word Derby first became associated with races…
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Not from Newport? Get to know the Welsh velodrome hosting DerbyWheel
The Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales has been chosen to host DerbyWheel’s test event in the first half of 2024. The 250m wooden track, in the south Wales city of Newport was opened in November 2003. It was designed and built by the legendary Ron Webb – and was due to be his last…
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Game-changing prize money will turn an expensive hobby into a good career
Much of the excitement around DerbyWheel has centred around money, and specifically the opportunity for track sprinters to make a good – potentially, very good – living from their sport. At present, track sprinting (outside Korea and Japan) is dominated by a small number of national elite development programmes. There is no career path for…
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DerbyWheel will enforce a phone-free ‘bubble’ during race meetings
Keirin in Japan and Korea is built on gambling. It is revenue derived from betting which pays the riders prize money, supports the velodromes, and feeds back into the community through charities and local government. Spectator riots and organised crime involvement may be in the distant past. But riders are constantly reminded that the sport…
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Former Canadian champion Lizanne refuses to retire
Two-time Canadian keirin champion Lizanne Wilmot, bacon_bitzz on Instagram has confirmed to Global Keirin that she is signed up to DerbyWheel – and will be bringing a freshly painted pink Dolan DF4 to Newport in April. Based in Sydney, Australia, Lizanne won Canadian national keirin titles in 2015 and 2018. She is also a five-time…
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Reigning Irish sprint and keirin champion Orla Walsh confirms DerbyWheel switch
Current Irish women’s elite sprint and keirin champion Orla Walsh has confirmed that she is switching from UCI racing to DerbyWheel – and says she will ride her first race of the year in one month’s time, implying that she will be taking part in the Newport test event in late April. Posting today on…
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Perth SpeedDome: DerbyWheel’s home in Western Australia
The velodrome in the western Australian city of Perth will be one of the arenas used for DerbyWheel’s ‘regular season’ race weekends, due to begin in the second half of 2024. DerbyWheel CEO James Pope confirmed the news in his appearance on The Piste Take podcast in February. The SpeedDome is located in Midvale, around…
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One month to go… what do we know?
DerbyWheel’s exhibition event has been announced for 26-28 April 2024, in Newport, United Kingdom. But for an event just one month away, very little detail has been communicated. Where will the event take place? Newport is the home of the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales. Opened in 2003, it is an indoor 250 metre…
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Late change of visual branding for DerbyWheel ahead of launch event?
Recent communications from DerbyWheel organisers appear to indicate a change of visual identity, just a few weeks before the series showcase event in Newport, Wales. The open letter from DerbyWheel president DJ Hyun, dated 1 March carried a new logo, featuring a heavily stylized DW with a red gradient colouring. The same logo has also…
