Keirin
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Keirin is a track cycling event in which a small group of racing cyclists sprints for victory. In the first few laps, the cyclists are paced by a motorised vehicle called a derny, which leaves the track a few laps before the end, at a speed of about 50 km/h. The first to finish the high-speed (sometimes at 70 km/h) race is the winner.
In championships, this event is conducted in several rounds. Eliminated cyclists get the opportunity try again in the repechages.
Keirin began in 1948 in Japan, and has great popularity there. It is a professional sport and the Japanese place bets on the outcome of the Keirin races. In spite of its popularity, Japanese cyclists do not usually feature in the medal contenders for this event at international tournaments.
Aspiring Keirin racers compete for entrance into Japan Keirin School. The 10% of applicants fortunate enough to be accepted then undergo a strict, 15-hour per day, training regime. Those who pass the graduation exams, and are approved by the Japan Keirin Association become eligible for Keirin races.
Keirin racing became an event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in 2000 at Sydney, Australia.
External links
- What's Keirin - English (pdf) (http://www.trackmania.de/pdf.keirin/keirin.e.pdf)
- About Keirin racing (http://www.oldskooltrack.com/files/tomity-keirin.frame.html)
- Keirin Cycling Culture Café, Berlin, Germany (http://www.keirinberlin.de/)ja:競輪