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Athletics legend Michael Johnson plans startup sports series
Keirin cycling isn’t the only Olympic-focused sport seeking to reinvent itself with a mass-audience, narrative-driven, regular-season concept. Legendary American 200m and 400m runner Michael Johnson is behind a new initiative, Grand Slam Track which promises to fill the four-year gap between Olympic Games. Following the models of tennis and golf, the new series will run…
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DerbyWheel CEO: we don’t want a war, but UCI won’t even meet with us
DerbyWheel CEO James Pope says he doesn’t want to go to war with the UCI – but at present, the world cycling governing body is refusing even to have a meeting with the start-up keirin competition. ‘It was never our desire to be on the UCI calendar,’ Pope told the Roadman Podcast. ‘We are not…
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Nigeria’s Ukpeseraye gets Egypt’s place in Olympic keirin
Nigeria will receive the African continent’s quota place in the women’s sprint and keirin events at the Paris Olympics, following the withdrawal of Egypt’s nominated rider. Shahd Saeed was suspended following an incident at the end of the Egyptian elite women’s championship road race in April, when she was deemed to have forced a rival…
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Lavreysen and Finucane favourites for Olympic gold
Bookmakers believe world no1 Harrie Lavreysen is destined for gold in the men’s keirin on the final day of the Paris Olympics. The Dutch star is an odds-on favourite, 8/11 with a number of online gambling sites, according to data gathered by the UK’s Oddschecker. Japan’s Kaiya Ota is second favourite, 9/2 with all sites,…
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Keirin at Paris 2024: event format, race times and entry lists
The men’s and women’s keirin competitions at the 2024 Olympics will take place over two successive days: August 7 & 8 for the women, August 10 & 11 for the men. In each case, the first day consists of first round and repechage races. The quarters, semis and finals all take place in quick succession…
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UCI highlights track sprinters in new YouTube series
Track sprinters feature prominently in a series of YouTube videos posted by the UCI in recent days, ahead of the Paris Olympics. Thailand’s Jai Angsuthasawit, Canada’s Kelsey Mitchell, Suriname’s Jaïr Tjon En Fa, France’s Mathilde Gros and Trinidad & Tobago’s Nicholas Paul all star in professionally-filmed, two-minute interview pieces, all in English, talking about their…
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British Olympic team prepares for Paris at Newport
Great Britain’s track cyclists will once again return to the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport, for their pre Olympics training camp. The squad has gathered at the Welsh arena ahead of every Olympics since Athens 2004. ‘It’s our second home,’ British Cycling’s team head of performance support Paul Mullan told venue operators…
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DerbyWheel set for September showdown after test event delay
DerbyWheel seems to be headed for a showdown with cycling’s world governing body in late August or September, following confirmation that its test event will follow the Paris Olympics. International track cycling is focused entirely on the four-year Olympic cycle; and riders will inevitably find themselves contemplating their futures when the final track gold is…
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Egypt’s Saeed pulled from Paris sprint and keirin
The women’s sprint and keirin events at the Paris Olympics may go ahead with only 29 participants, following confirmation of the withdrawal of Egypt’s Shahd Saeed. The 19-year-old received a one-year ban and a US$ 100 fine (the maximum possible) from the Egyptian Cycling Federation following an incident at the conclusion of Egypt’s elite women…
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Confirmed: no DerbyWheel test event until after Olympics
A video message to prospective competitors has been posted on the DerbyWheel website homepage, in which CEO James Pope confirms that the test event will not be happening until after the Olympics – meaning mid-August at the very earliest. Global Keirin understands that the video was sent directly to riders a week or two ago.…
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UCI accepts gambling title sponsor for 2024 Champions League
2024’s UCI Track Champions League will be contested over a more compressed schedule than in previous years, and with changes likely to the qualification process. Announcements on the UCI and Track Champions League websites confirm that the competition will take place at three velodromes – Paris, Apeldoorn and London, over three weekends. The Olympic track…
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Two months of silence casts doubt over test event
It’s now two full months since the last news update from DerbyWheel. The most recent news article posted on the website was April 12; and the revised ‘open message to cyclists around the world’ was dated April 17. The website continues to state in several places that the exhibition event will take place in ‘the…
