Keirin

Not to be confused with Kirin (disambiguation).

Keirin (ケイリン)

Keirin in Colwood, British Columbia, July 2006.
Highest governing body	Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and JKA Foundation (Japanese Regulating Body)
Year Originated	1948 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
Characteristics
Type	Track cycling
Presence
Olympic	2000, 2004, 2008, 2012

Keirin (競輪 / ケイリン, "racing wheels") is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gambling purposes and became an official event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Races are about 2 kilometers long: eight laps on a 250m track, six laps on a 333m track, five laps on a 400m track. Lots are drawn to determine starting positions for the sprint riders behind the pacer, which is usually a motorcycle, but can be a derny or tandem bicycle. Riders must remain behind the pacer for a predetermined number of laps. Initially it makes circuits at about 25 kilometres per hour (16 mph), gradually increasing to about 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph). The pacer usually leaves the track approximately 600–700 meters before the end. The winner's finishing speed is around 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)).

Competition Keirins are often conducted over several rounds with one final. Sometimes eliminated cyclists get the opportunity to try again in the repechages.

World championships

See also: UCI Track Cycling World Championships

Keirin has been a UCI men's World Championship event since 1980 and a UCI women's World Championship event since 2002. Danny Clark and Li Na of China were the first UCI world champions. The 2012 men's and women's world champions are Sir Chris Hoy of the United Kingdom and Anna Meares of Australia.

Olympics

Olympics	(Men's) Champion
2000	Florian Rousseau (FRA)
2004	Ryan Bayley (AUS)
2008	Chris Hoy (GBR)
2012	TBD

Olympics	(Women's) Champion
2012	Victoria Pendleton (GBR)

Keirin was admitted into the Olympics in December 1996. A BBC News investigation, reported in July 2008, found evidence that following admission into the Olympics, the Union Cycliste Internationale required (in writing) that the Japan Keirin Association support UCI projects in "material terms"; over a period of time the association subsequently gave three million dollars to UCI in consideration of "the excellent relationship the UCI has with representatives of the Olympic movement." Four members of the governing body were subsequently arrested in Tokyo.

Men's keirin became an event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and women's was added at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, being won by Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain.

Keirin in Japan

See also: Gambling in Japan

The entrance and grandstand at the Iwaki-Taira Velodrome in Iwaki, Fukushima.

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

During a race at Omiya Velodrome in Saitama, the nine racers form a line behind the pacer as they go around a corner.

Racers sprinting to the finish line in the last lap of a race at the Ōmiya Velodrome.

Professional cycling (競輪, keirin) began as a betting sport in Japan in 1948, and has since become very popular there. In 1957, the Nihon Jitensha Shinkōkai (NJS; also known in English as the Japanese Keirin Association) was founded to establish a uniform system of standards for the sport in Japan. Today keirin racing is regulated by the JKA Foundation.

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

Champions from Japan

Koichi Nakano (中野 浩一, Nakano Kōichi) is the all-time winning cyclist on the Japan Professional Keirin circuit. One of the first Japanese keirin athletes to compete outside of his native country, Nakano 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 competed in separate "amateur" events.

Koji Yamaguchi (山口 幸二, Yamaguchi Kōji), a 43 year old keirin competitor from Gifu Prefecture, is the defending champion of the Keirin Grand Prix. In 2011, Yamaguchi earned the most prize money out of all Keirin athletes with nearly ¥198 million in earnings.

Hiroyuki Murakami (村上 博幸, Murakami Hiroyuki), a keirin competitor from Kyoto, is the defending champion of the six-day Japan Championship meet that is held every March.

Typical race

Keirin races in Japan begin with all nine cyclists 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 colour for identification and betting purposes.

At the sound of the gun, the cyclists 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 1½ 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 referees, each located in a tower next to one of the four turns (referred to as corners). After every race, each referee 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 rules violation; 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 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), with the highest-caliber events contested at a longer distance. The Keirin Grand Prix, for example, is run at 2,825 metres (9,268 ft), or seven laps around a 400-meter course.

Rankings

There are a total of six rankings that competitors can obtain in Japanese keirin racing. SS is the highest ranking, followed by S1, 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 color of the shorts worn by each keirin competitor indicates rank. Those in A-class (A1, A2, A3) wear black shorts with a green stripe and white stars. S-class competitors (S1 and S2) wear a red stripe instead of a green stripe. Those in the elite SS class wear red shorts with a black stripe, white stars and special insignia. Introduced in 2007, the SS ranking is assigned by the NJS every December before the Grand Prix to the best keirin athletes, who retain the ranking for a period of one year.

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, a three-day meet held at the end of December for the year's top keirin competitors. The meet ultimately concludes with the Grand Prix race itself, which determines the annual Keirin racing champion.

As of December 2008, the nine competitors for the Keirin Grand Prix race are determined in the following order of priority:

• Winners of each of six GI events during the year (Keirin Festival, Japan Championship, Prince Takamatsu Memorial Cup, Prince Tomohito Cup, All-Star Keirin and All-Japan Selection),
• Japanese medal winners of cycling events from the Summer Olympic Games, if they are held in the same year,
• Competitors recommended by a Keirin selection committee,
• Competitors that have earned the most money from finishing first, second or third in Keirin events during the year, and finally,
• Competitors with the highest average race score during the year.

Also part of the Grand Prix meet is the GII Young Grand Prix, which is open to the best of those that have begun competing in Keirin within the last three years; it is the only Keirin race of the year in which both S-class and A-class compete in the same race.

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.

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. On average there is one GI or GII event every month and one GIII meeting per week on the annual calendar.

Top events

Month	Grade	Event	Host Venue
February	II	East/West Championship (東西王座戦)	2012: Kōchi Velodrome, Kōchi
March	I	Japan Championship (日本選手権)	2012: Kumamoto Velodrome, Kumamoto 2013: Tachikawa Velodrome, Tokyo
April	II	Kyodo News Service Cup (共同通信社杯)	2012: Nagoya Velodrome, Aichi
June	I	Prince Takamatsu Memorial Cup (高松宮記念杯)	2012: Hakodate Velodrome, Hokkaido
July	I	Prince Tomohito Cup (寛仁親王牌・世界選手権記)	2012: Yahiko Velodrome, Niigata
July	II	Summer Night Festival (サマーナイトフェスティバル)	2012: Yokkaichi Velodrome, Mie
August	I	All-Japan Selection (全日本選抜)	2012: Matsuyama Velodrome, Ehime
September	I	All-Star Keirin (オールスター競輪)	2012: Maebashi Velodrome, Gunma
November	I	Keirin Festival (競輪祭)	Kokura Velodrome, Kokura
December	II	Young Grand Prix (ヤンググランプリ)	2012: Keiokaku Velodrome, Tokyo
December	GP	Keirin Grand Prix (KEIRINグランプリ)	2012: Keiokaku Velodrome, Tokyo

Race schedule

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 unless they are disqualfied from a race or retire from the meet for any reason - in which case alternate competitors are called up to fill in the lower-caliber races.

Below is a schedule of races conducted during a typical three-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 ippan)
  • 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 junketsushō)
  • First three finishers in each race advance to Day 3 Final
  • Fourth 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 ippan)
• 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 junketsushō)

DAY 3

• Races 1 & 2: A-class General (A級 一般, A kyū ippan)
• Race 3: A-class Selection (A級 選抜, A kyū senbatsu)
• Races 4 & 5: A-class Special (A級 特選, A kyū tokusen)
• Races 6 & 7: S-class General (S級 一般, S kyū ippan)
• Race 8: S-class Selection (S級 選抜, S kyū senbatsu)
• Race 9: A-class Final (A級 決勝, A kyū ketsushō)
• Races 10 & 11: S-class Special Excellence (S級 特別優秀, S kyū tokubetsu yūshō)
• Race 12: S-class Final (S級 決勝, S kyū ketsushō)

Equipment

Mikashima Chaintug With NJS Stamp

As a 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 ($15 billion). Since so much money is at stake, the Nihon Jitensha Shinkōkai (Japanese Bicycle Association or NJS) - now under the JKA Foundation - 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.

Those who wish to race in Japan must attend the Japan Bicycle Racing School where they learn the necessary rules, etiquette, and skills. The school typically accepts only 10% of applicants. Those who pass final examination must still be approved by the Japan Keirin Association.

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. 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. For example, 36 spoke wheels are allowed but not 32, although 32 spoke wheels are typically lighter, and frames must be built by a very limited number of approved builders.

NJS approved equipment often sells for more than comparable equipment because of its specific use, build requirements, and limited manufacturers. Popular manufacturers include Nagasawa, 3Rensho, Makino, Kalavinka, Level, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Samson, Shimano, Nitto, Hatta, MKS, Kashimax, and Sugino. Because the NJS's main objective is supporting the Japanese cycling market, its bureaucracy is notoriously critical of foreign manufacturers attempting to enter the Japanese market. The Italian cycling equipment manufacturer Campagnolo has, though, received NJS certification.

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

Betting

Bets that can be made on Keirin races include:

• Exacta (２車単, ni-sha-tan) - selecting the first two finishers in exact order
• Quinella (２車複, ni-sha-fuku) - first two finishers in any order
• Trifecta (３連単, san-ren-tan) - first three finishers in exact order
• Trio (３連複, san-ren-puku) - first three finishers in any order
• Quinella Place, or WIDE (ワイド, uaido) - selecting two to finish in the top three, in any order.

Some Keirin velodromes accept the following wagers over the internet:

• K-3 - selecting the winner of each of the last three races of the day.
• K-5 - selecting the winner of each of the last five races of the day.
• BIG DREAM - selecting the first two finishers, in any order, in each of the last four races of the day.

The money wagered in the K-5 and BIG DREAM pools can carry over if there are no winning tickets.

See also: Parimutuel betting

In extraordinary circumstances, races have been declared no-contests, forcing velodromes to refund millions of yen in bets. Such results are generally known as a failure (不成立, fuseiritsu). A race at Shizuoka velodrome on January 2, 2008 was declared a failure when the back wheel of the pacer's bicycle nicked the bicycle of an actual competitor, causing him to fall. In a race at Iwaki-Taira Velodrome on December 14, 2008, separate infractions resulted in the disqualification of the entire field; all but one of the competitors were handed a one-year suspension by the velodrome after the race. The suspensions were lifted four months later.

See also

• Motor-paced racing

External links

• Japan's official website in Japan Template:Ja
• Keirin from the BBC Sport Academy website