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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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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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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…
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Manchester website reports from inside January’s induction
Local Manchester news website Mancunian Matters went inside track centre for January’s DerbyWheel induction at the UK’s National Cycling Centre. The video, published a few months later, includes interviews with DerbyWheel CEO James Pope, and prospective DerbyWheel competitor Lewis Oliva. Referencing the continuing stalemate with the UCI, Pope said: ‘Our mission is to enable riders…
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Pick a nickname: darts shows DerbyWheel how it’s done
Cycling is no stranger to a nickname. We’ve had the Cannibal, the Badger and the Pirate. More recently, Purito and Spartacus, Wiggo and the Manx Missile, the Shark and the Gorilla. You’ll often hear them in commentary. You might see them painted on the road, or represented in a custom paint job on a frame.…
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Updated equipment list hints at a more modern keirin spectacle
New details of the approved DerbyWheel race equipment have been revealed through an update to the organisation’s Race Manual, published online in recent days. The new document uses the newer red logo, and develops the brand further, with much stronger visuals and various red devices. We’re impressed. In addition to Dolan’s Alpina and Novacorona’s Ares…
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Irish champ Walsh changes plans after test event delay
With DerbyWheel’s April test event postponed, Irish sprint champion Orla Walsh has filled the sudden gap in her schedule with something from the opposite end of the scale. She revealed on Instagram that she will now be participating in the celebrated Mallorca 312 gran fondo event, riding the 167km circuit around the north of the…
