Students also learn about bike mechanics in the workshop. Training could be on the bike, on foot or in the gym, while education sessions are both academic - studying tactics, theory and race rules in the classroom - and practical. In between, students have structured training and education sessions. The day starts at 6:30am with roll call and finishes at 10pm with lights out, for six days a week, 11 months of the year. Keirin school is part military academy, part training camp. "It's a place of tradition which focuses on respect, self-control, and honesty, along with the knowledge necessary to be a professional keirin rider," Hoy adds. Six-time Olympic gold medallist Hoy returned to Japan for a BBC documentary about keirin racing This is keirin school, where just 10% of applicants are accepted. Watch: The Secret World of Japanese Bicycle Racing.Looking around his old room, he uncovers a sticker with his name on, which he had hidden safely behind a ceiling panel 15 years ago. The last time he was here was in 2005 - three years before he won the first of his two Olympic keirin gold medals. Fuji an imposing presence in the distance. It's an idyllic setting, situated atop a mountain with Mt. Hoy is walking around a school in Izu, some 200km and a two-hour bullet train journey from Tokyo. Its annual showpiece attracts more in wagers than is gambled over the entire British horse racing season. Yet in Japan, it's a £10bn industry, potentially lucrative for riders and fans alike as one of only four sports you can legally bet on. Those who watch only when the Games roll around every four years may remember it as the race in which riders are led out by a motorised pacer. In Japan, it's a serious business.įans of track cycling will know keirin as the event that has seen Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Victoria Pendleton take their place on the top step of the Olympic podium. Keirin racing is about respect, integrity and dedication. They had not long ago arrived in suits, as tradition dictates. Each of them is wearing a different brightly coloured jersey with matching helmet.
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