The War on Wheels, Inside the Keirin and Japan’s Cycling Subculture, by Justin McCurry
Keirin racing might appear on your radar for the annual track world championships, or even just for the summer Olympics. In Japan it’s a way of life for participants and punters alike, one of only four sports where betting is allowed. This rewarding new book takes look at keirin as a sport, as a business and along the way holds up a mirror to Japanese society.
Anna Kiesenhofer attacks Anna Plichta and Omer Shapira over the Kagosaka pass. With a lead of five minutes on Annemiek van Vleuten and six minutes on the rest with just over 40km to go, the Austrian is going solo. This was the moment the Olympic road race was won.
Kagosaka Pass was the smallest marked climb of the day and just enough to launch the winning move as Brandon McNulty and Richard Carapaz managed to break free from a group that had been bossed by Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert. This was the moment the men’s Olympic road race in Tokyo was won.
The women’s road race is on today and features the same start and finish but cuts out the Fuji and Mikuni mountains to make for a more hectic race that will be harder to predict in the finish, although who’d bet against another Dutch win?
We’re set for a strange edition of the Olympic Games. Unlike other sports confined to empty arenas the men’s road race is this Saturday will showcase plenty of the best of rural Japan with a mountain course featuring Mount Fuji.
Familiar names from the Tour de France like Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert and Richard Carapaz take on others take on Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida, the Yates brothers and more.
Here’s a look at Mikuni pass in Japan. It’s not famous but it should be the decisive climb of the 2020 Olympic road race, if only for the men, so here are some notes in this climb outside Tokyo which offers double-digit gradients and if that doesn’t take your breath away then the views of Mount Fuji will… as long as the weather’s fine.
This is repost from February 2019 in order to take a closer look at hardest climb of men’s Olympic road race
Grand Bornand, big win. The Laval time trial was important, the Col de Romme was decisive. Stage 8 was hectic from the start with riders trying to go clear and at one point Tadej Pogačar joined in an early breakaway, a move that said plenty about the chaotic racing. The UAE team tried to control the race until halfway up the Col de Romme when Davide Formolo, grimacing in agony, could pull no longer. Out of team mates, Pogačar decided to get rid of his rivals. One attack and nobody except Richard Carapaz could or would follow, one more attack and Carapaz was dropped. Pogačar took more than three minutes on his rivals at the finish in Le Grand Bornand to take the yellow jersey with five minutes on most of his GC rivals. The next day Pogačar countered an attack by Carapaz and took another 30 seconds. This was the moment the race was won.
No time for post-Tour blues, the Olympics are coming. Need to know what day and what time all the cycling events in the Olympics are on? Want to have this on your phone or diary? You’ve come to the right place…
That final sprint and a big moment for Mark Cavendish who’s up against all the remaining sprinters, and the rest of the field who might fancy their chances too.
A time trial or a wine trial? Today sees a stage win up for grab among the TT specialists, a prestigious win and a pre-Tokyo test too while the top-10 can move too, and all amid some of France’s finest vineyards.