Keirin

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Keirin (競輪, Keirin^?) is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948.

[edit] Description

A keirin in Colwood, British Columbia, July 2006

The keirin is a mass start track cycling event in which 6 to 9 sprinters compete at one time in a race with a paced-start. Riders draw lots to determine starting positions and start as the pacer (which could be a motorcycle, a derny, or a tandem bicycle, for example) approaches. The riders are required to remain behind the pacer, which starts at the deliberately slow speed of about 25 km/h, gradually increasing in speed and leaves the track approximately 600-700 meters before the end, at a speed of about 50 km/h. The first cyclist to finish the race is the winner (sometimes finishing at 70 km/h). Keirin races are about 2 kilometers in length (8 laps on a 250m track, 6 laps on a 333m track, and 5 laps on a 400m track).

In competitions, this event is often conducted in several rounds in order to reduce the number of competitors to one "final" round of 6-9 riders. Eliminated cyclists may get the opportunity try again in the repechages.

Keirin began in 1948 in Japan, and has become very popular there as a betting sport. In 1957, the Japanese Keirin Association was founded to establish a uniform system of standards for the sport in Japan. Japanese cyclists do not usually feature in the medal contenders for this event at international championships, largely due to the fact that the Japanese keirin circuit is more lucrative and prestigious for the Japanese than are competitions such as the world championships and the Olympic Games. Koichi Nakano was one of the first Japanese keirin riders to compete outside Japan.

Aspiring professional keirin riders in Japan compete for entrance into the Japan Keirin School. The 10 per cent of applicants who are accepted then undergo a strict, 15-hours per day, training regime. Those who pass the graduation exams, and are approved by the Nihon Jitensha Shinkokai become eligible for professional keirin races in Japan.

Keirin racing became an event at the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, Australia.

[edit] Keirin in Japan

Mikishima Chaintug With NJS Stamp

See also: Gambling in Japan

[edit] Standards

As a unique result of the parimutuel gambling that surrounds Keirin racing in Japan, a strict system of standards was developed for bicycles and repair tools. There are currently 50 velodromes in operation that hold races where annually over 20 million people attend and place bets amounting to over ¥1.5 trillion. Since so much money is at stake, Nihon Jitensha Shinkokai (the Japanese Bicycling Association, or NJS) requires that all Keirin racers in Japan ride and use equipment that meets their standards. All riders use very similar bicycles, so that no rider will have any advantage or disadvantage based on equipment. In addition, all riders must pass strict licensing requirements.

All bicycles and equipment must be built within strict guidelines set by the NJS, by a certified builder using NJS approved materials. The products are then stamped by NJS and only equipment bearing this stamp may be used. However, it should be noted that the NJS standard is to ensure that no rider will have any advantage or disadvantage based on equipment, and does not necessarily relate to quality or standard of manufacture; e.g. 36 spoke wheels are allowed but not 32, and frames must be built by a very limited number of approved builders.

NJS approved equipment often sells for triple the price of comparable equipment because of its popularity in Japan. NJS equipment can usually be obtained more cheaply outside Japan, in places like the US, Germany, France, or Italy, where advanced technologies such as carbon fiber are more popular and more commonly used in racing than the steel required of Keirin. However, NJS frames are still much more expensive than their advanced-material counterparts. Popular manufacturers include Samson, Nitto, Bridgestone, 3Rensho, Shimano, Nagasawa, Panasonic, Hatta, MKS, Kashimax and Sugino.

NJS approved equipment is not required for keirin races outside Japan.

[edit] A typical race

Start of a race at Tachikawa keirin stadium, Tachikawa, Tokyo. Riders start from the blocks and pace up to speed behind the pacer, wearing purple and orange. A judge observes the start in the tower to the right.

Keirin races in Japan begin with all nine bicyclists parading to the starting blocks, bowing as they enter the track and again as they position their bikes for the start of the race. Every participant is assigned a number and a color for identification and betting purposes, much like colored saddle cloths used in American horse racing.

At the sound of the gun, the bicyclists leave their starting blocks and attempt to gain position behind the pacer, a Keirin bicyclist wearing purple with orange stripes. As the pace quickens, the pacer will usually depart the track with between one and two laps remaining, but the actual location where the pacer leaves varies with every race.

With 1 1/2 laps remaining, officials begin sounding a bell or gong, increasing in frequency until the bicyclists come around to begin the final lap of the race.

The race is monitored by four judges, each located in a tower next to one of the four turns (referred to as corners). After every race, the judge will wave either a white or red flag. A white flag indicates that no infractions occurred in that area. A red flag, however, signals a possible infraction and launches an inquiry into the race. Judges then examine the race on videotape to decide if a participant committed a violation that affected others; if so, he is disqualified and retires from the remainder of the meet.

Keirin ovals are divided into specific areas: The two straightaways (homestretch and backstretch), the four turns (corners), and two locations called the "center", referring to the area between corners 1 and 2 (1 center) and corners 3 and 4 (2 center).

Most Keirin events are run at the standard distance of approximately 2000 meters, with the highest-caliber events contested at a longer distance. The Keirin Grand Prix, for example, is run at 2825 meters, or seven laps around a 400-meter course.

[edit] Keirin Rankings

There are a total of six rankings that competitors can obtain in Japanese Keirin Racing. In regular circumstances, S1 is the highest ranking, followed by S2, A1, A2 and A3. All new Keirin graduates begin their careers with an A3 ranking and work their way up by competing in Keirin events.

The sixth ranking, SS, is assigned by the NJS every December to the most elite Keirin riders, who retain the ranking for a period of one year.

[edit] Keirin Race Grades

A race meeting at any given Keirin Velodrome in Japan is assigned a grade. The highest graded events are GP, GI (G1), GII (G2) and GIII (G3), reserved only for S-class riders. Underneath those are FI (F1) events, which are open to both S-class and A-class riders. The lowest graded events, FII (F2), are reserved for A-class riders.

The GP grade designation is reserved for the Keirin Grand Prix, held at the end of December for the year's top Keirin competitors. The 2008 edition will be contested December 28-30 at the Hiratsuka Velodrome in Kanagawa Prefecture. The GII Young Grand Prix, open to the top Keirin competitors who registered in the last three years, is held one day before the Keirin Grand Prix.

Another prestigious event on the annual Keirin racing calendar is the GI Japan Championship. Held every March over a period of six days, it is the longest single race meeting of the year. The 2009 Japan Championship will be held March 3-8 at the Kishiwada Velodrome in Osaka.

Each of the Keirin velodromes are generally permitted to host one event per year of either GI, GII or GIII designation. The remaining events at each track consist of a combination of FI and FII races for a total of approximately 70 race days per year.

[edit] Calendar of Top Keirin Events

On average, there is one GI or GII event every month, and one GIII meeting per week on the annual Keirin calendar. GI event winners, and Keirin competitors that have earned enough race points over the course of a year, qualify for the year-ending Keirin Grand Prix.

[edit] Race Sequence

Keirin velodromes follow the same basic schedule of races when conducting a race meeting. On the first day of competition, the better Keirin competitors are assigned to races of higher caliber, while others are assigned to low-caliber races. Keirin racers are guaranteed to compete on each day of the meeting.

Below is a schedule of races conducted during a typical 3-day FI event (open to both S-class and A-class riders).

DAY 1

• Races 1-3: A-class Preliminary (A級 予選, A kyū yosen^?) (low caliber)
  • First two finishers in each race advance to Day 2 Semi-finals
  • Third place finishers advance to Day 2 Selection
  • Remaining riders compete in Day 2 General
• Races 4 & 5: A-class Selection (A級 選抜, A kyū senbatsu^?) (medium caliber)
  • First six finishers in each race advance to Day 2 Semi-finals
  • Remaining riders compete in Day 2 Selection
• Race 6: A-class Special (A級 特選, A kyū tokusen^?) (high caliber)
  • All riders compete in Day 2 Semi-finals

After six races, S-class riders compete, advancing to the next day's races in the same manner as the A class:

• Races 7-9: S-class Preliminary (S級 予選, S kyū yosen^?)
• Races 10 & 11: S-class Selection (S級 選抜, S kyū senbatsu^?)
• Race 12: S-class Special (S級 特選, S kyū tokusen^?)

DAY 2

• Races 1 & 2: A-class General (A級 一般, A kyū itsuban^?)
  • First two finishers in each race advance to Day 3 Selection
  • Remaining riders compete in Day 3 General
• Race 3: A-class Selection (A級 選抜, A kyū senbatsu^?)
  • First three finishers advance to Day 3 Special Excellence
  • Fourth and fifth place finishers advance to Day 3 Selection
  • Remaining riders compete in Day 3 General
• Races 4-6: A-class Semi-finals (A級 準決勝, A kyū junketsushou^?)
  • First three finishers in each race advance to Day 3 Final
  • Fifth through eighth place finishers in each race advance to Day 3 Special Excellence
  • Ninth place finisher competes in Day 3 Selection

S-class riders advance to the final day in a similar manner:

• Races 7 & 8: S-class General (S級 一般, S kyū itsuban^?)
• Race 9: S-class Selection (S級 選抜, S kyū senbatsu^?)
• Races 10-12: S-class Semi-finals (S級 準決勝, S kyū junketsushou^?)

DAY 3

• Races 1 & 2: A-class General (A級 一般, A kyū itsuban^?)
• Race 3: A-class Selection (A級 選抜, A kyū senbatsu^?)
• Races 4 & 5: A-class Special Excellence (A級 特別優秀, A kyū tokubetsu yūshou^?)
• Races 6 & 7: S-class General (S級 一般, S kyū itsuban^?)
• Race 8: S-class Selection (S級 選抜, S kyū senbatsu^?)
• Race 9: A-class Final (A級 決勝, A kyū ketsushou^?)
• Races 10 & 11: S-class Special Excellence (S級 特別優秀, S kyū tokubetsu yūshou^?)
• Race 12: S-class Final (S級 決勝, S kyū ketsushou^?)

[edit] Champions

The Keirin has been a World Championship event since 1980 with Danny Clarke being the first Keirin World Champion. The current world champions (2008) are British Chris Hoy for men and American Jennie Reed for women. See UCI Track World Championships for a list of Keirin World Champions.

As of 2005, Koichi Nakano (中野 浩一, Nakano Kōichi^?) is the all-time winning cyclist on the Japan Professional Keirin circuit, and also holds the best record as a track cyclist at the UCI Track World Championships with a record of ten consecutive professional Sprint World Track Cycling Championship wins from 1977-86 against mostly western European pro track cyclists, although he never won the Keirin World Championship. At that time, many leading sprint riders were from the Eastern bloc countries and had to compete in separate "amateur" events.

Toshiaki Fushimi (伏見　俊昭, Fushimi Toshiaki^?), a Keirin racer from Fukushima Prefecture, is currently the defending champion of the Keirin Grand Prix. In 2007, Fushimi earned the most prize money of any Keirin racer: 185 million yen, or approximately US$1.6 million. This includes the 100 million yen (US$890,000) prize for winning the Grand Prix. The defending champion of the Japan Championship is Harutomo Watanabe (渡邉　晴智, Watanabe Harutomo^?), a Keirin racer from Shizuoka Prefecture.

[edit] External links

• TrackCyclingSA - Keirin article
• What's Keirin - English (pdf)
• Keirin @ velospace - photos of Keirin bikes
• About Keirin racing
• BBC Sport's description of Keirin
• Keirin Cycling Culture Café, Berlin, Germany
• Japan's Official Keirin Website (Japanese only)
• Japanese Keirin Association's Official Brochure 1996
• Keirin - Fest: Keirin Racing, London UK.

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