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A different way of life: Japanese Keirin racing
Last Post 02/05/2015 11:14 AM by Nicholas Arenella. 6 Replies.
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79pmooney

Posts:3189

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11/21/2014 02:11 PM
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-inside-japanese-keirin

Wow!  So completely different from the pro road scene!  More like the way of monks, except you can't fit those thighs in monks' robes!

Seriously though, this is good stuff.  The world is better off for having men and women who have such discipline.  (Although the pictures of those students preparing to sprint 280m from a standing start, then climb an 80M 25% hill seated might be a nightmare of mine tonight!)

I bet that school turns out a few men of the moral standing of my high school English teacher/ex-marine, also wrestling coach who was such a profound influence on us.

Ben
Keith Richards

Posts:781

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11/21/2014 02:27 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=k5tRk0FFRwM#t=284

You can see the hill workout in action. These guys are sick.
----- It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong.
THE SKINNY

Posts:506

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11/21/2014 02:43 PM
i wonder why you don't see more japanese pro cyclists in the classics or grand tours?
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
longslowdistance

Posts:2886

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11/21/2014 03:38 PM
Because the money is in the local scene? Kinda like US emphasizing crits for decades rather than euro style road racing. Produced excellent crit racers, but not competitive in Europe.
Hoshie

Posts:134

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12/02/2014 11:53 PM
A few of the top kerin guys put the wallop on quite a few foreign racers in select international track events back in the day, but they did not consistently show up since the money in Japan was good in the heyday.

A friend of mine met a younger top kerin guy on a train in Tokyo who confided to his friend that the lifestyle was a little f'ed because his "old man" handlers were a bunch of squares who wouldn't let him have any fun (drinks, ladies, etc). I parked that deep in the memory bank and after I read the article, the whole monastic thing made sense.

THe kerin assocation used to invite some top foreign riders to come and some Americans (nothstein, etc) would go for limited events I largely suspect to pad their pockets in this very odd sport.

I personally would have loved that style of racing when I was young; very niche. I think it will continue to fade though given the demongraphics and how the sport seems stuck in time.

J

Hoshie

Posts:134

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12/02/2014 11:59 PM
Nakano was the racer I was thinking of - put the hurt on the euros in track racing when he decided to travel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koichi_Nakano

Nakano mini documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYfHAxc0RH0

Or check out his "dirty moves" for the '82 world sprint championship against Singleton (also on Youtube).
Nick A

Posts:625

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02/05/2015 11:14 AM
Who remembers when Nelson Vails went there for a (good long?) while? I think it was basically a decent living.

Peripherally knew him as part of the NY bike scene way back when.
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