KEIRIN is a cycling event that dates back to 1948 and is a much-loved Japanese creation. Boiled down to its basics, riders follow a motorbike which gets them up to speed, then lets them race to the ...

One of the Olympics’ best-loved and most prominent sports, track cycling has featured at every modern Olympic Games other than Stockhom 1912, with women’s events on the track added in 1988. But Emma ...

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At the elite Keirin Academy, riders live a solitary life while they learn the mental and physical discipline to excel at a grueling sport. Keirin racing is got its start in post-World War II Japan as ...

Haruka Kawaji is unfazed by the rain filling the Kishiwada Keirin Velodrome in Osaka. Warm despite the cold and with eyes only for the racing line, she clicks her bike into the starting blocks and ...

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Alpenrose Challenge director Charlie Warner calls the motor-paced keirin "a contact sport," akin to a NASCAR race. But on bicycles. "There's a lot of shoulder bumping, tactics and high speed," Warner ...

They reveal their tactics before the race, wear armour to protect themselves from attacks and give presents to the opponents they beat. That does not happen in the keirin at the Olympics, inside the ...

They bow as they walk their bikes onto the track and they do so again as they slot them into the start gates. They have no coach, no mechanic, no team. They have assembled their bikes single-handedly.

Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and get behind-the-scenes access and unrivalled insight Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter One of the Olympics’ best-loved and most ...

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