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International stars start at Japan’s keirin school
The elite track sprinters invited to compete in this summer’s Keirin World Series have arrived in Japan, and have already begun their education at the country’s celebrated keirin school. Pictures posted on social media in the last 24 hours show the riders in school classroom settings, and posing with some unusually old-school equipment. Joseph Truman…
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Lavreysen and Richardson among six foreign stars to race in Japan this summer
The six foreign riders invited to compete in Japanese domestic keirin competition this summer have been revealed, in synchronised announcements from the JKA and – notably – the UCI. It was confirmed back in October that invitations to international stars would resume in 2026. The last appearance by foreign riders in Japanese keirin was pre-pandemic,…
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Cynical response to UCI confirmation of international stars’ return to Japanese keirin
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…
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JKA data reveals average earnings of Japanese keirin professionals
The average Japanese keirin professional earned prize money of almost US$ 100,000 in calendar year 2025, according to data published by the Japanese Keirin Association. The JKA had 2,400 registered professional riders as of year-end 2025: 2,188 men and 212 women. The published averages include earnings for riders who retired during the year. The nine…
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Gunji solos to his first Grand Prix success
Kohei Gunji claimed his first Keirin Grand Prix title at the sixth time of asking, and with it the year’s biggest cash prize, with a bold solo ride in Tuesday’s showpiece event at Hiratsuka. It was the 35-year-old’s first major success since a G1 win in February 2024: he was one of the riders to…
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Sato’s stellar streak continues with win in Girls Grand Prix
Women’s keirin world champion Mina Sato capped a near-perfect 2025 with a decisive victory in Monday’s Girls Grand Prix event at Hiratsuka. Racing in her home region of Kanagawa, the 27-year-old entered the race as the overwhelming favourite, having won all of 2025’s G1 events: the remaining participants were therefore based on prize money ranking…
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Sato completes historic ‘calendar slam’ with win in chaotic G1 final
Fresh from retaining her women’s world championship title in Santiago, Mina Sato made history on Friday with yet another victory in top-flight Japanese keirin. Her triumph in the final of the Keirin Festival Women’s Championship, held at the 400m indoor track at Kokura, meant she took all four G1 titles in 2025 – becoming the…
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International stars will return to Japanese keirin in June 2026
The Japanese Keirin Association has confirmed the dates of ten ‘Keirin World Series’ events in summer 2026, to which foreign athletes will be invited. International stars will return to Japanese domestic competition for the first time since 2019. There will be a G3-level event at Wakayama in early August, open to men only but with…
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Japan’s keirin series Pist6 halts 2025 operations
Pist6, the series aiming to present a modern take on Japanese keirin racing, has announced that it will ‘temporarily suspend’ operations in a few weeks. Launched in October 2021, Pist6 seemed to provide a blueprint for what DerbyWheel could be: international UCI-style racing, held over 6 laps of the indoor 250m track in Chiba City,…
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Foreign riders will return to Japanese keirin in 2026
Japanese keirin is preparing to re-open its doors to international riders, for the first time since the Covid pandemic. MoreCadence is reporting a decision by the JKA that the ‘short-term registration system’, suspended in 2020, will be revived. (There’s nothing on the JKA website yet, though.) They propose to hold a Keirin World Series, consisting…
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History of foreign riders in Japanese keirin
Data collated prior to the return of international riders in 2026. The official website of Japanese keirin lists a total of 131 ‘foreign’ riders, invited to race in Japan by the JKA. Four have no results showing – so we’ll call it 127. None are listed as currently ‘active’. There are 111 men, starting with…
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How Japan’s cherished sumo has embraced foreign talent
Japanese keirin is a sport guided by history and tradition; but Japan’s sumo wrestling measures its history in centuries rather than decades. The first written mentions of sumo go as far back as the year 712; it became a professionalised spectator sport in the 1600s. As Sam Ellis explains in a recent video for Search…
