Keirin Racing on a Worldwide Circuit Brings Sports Betting to Track Cycling
If you think pro crit racing is fun to watch, you’re going to love DerbyWheel’s new Professional Keirin racing circuit that will kick off in 2024.
Keirin racing—arguably one of the most exciting track cycling events—is all about the sprinters, but it’s a highly tactical race as well. Riders start out being paced by an electric motorbike on the track, in order to quickly get riders up to a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. After three laps, the motorbike exits the track and a no-holds-barred race for three laps is on.
It only takes minutes, making it one of the most exciting events to watch. And with the Paris 2024 Olympics under a year away, now is a great time to get psyched up for track racing.
Will Keirin racing be the next big thing in pro cycling?
Keirin racing has been a huge spectating and gambling sport in Japan and Korea for decades, and DerbyWheel, a Professional Keirin League, is convinced that it can become a worldwide phenomenon. DerbyWheel will be bringing Keirin racing to indoor velodromes worldwide—and bringing along top Keirin racers from Japan and Korea to race against the top sprinters in the world.
“I was immediately excited about the vision of DerbyWheel. As a former track sprinter and Keirin medalist the benefits were clear for the sport, particularly for riders,” says Olympic Keirin silver medalist and DerbyWheel Director of Sport Ross Edgar. “I’m excited to be part of the team bringing this to life for the current and future generations of track sprinters. In my opinion, Keirin really is the best race on the track.”
In order to make it to the main event, the 400 riders from 33 different countries are registered in the league will have to complete the ‘induction’ at a track center in the UK, Korea or Australia in late 2023 and early 2024. They’ll be broken into three categories based on ability.
$600K prize purse is kicking things off
To kick the racing season off, February 23-25, 2024, 60 invited male and female cyclists will compete at the Manchester-National Cycling Center in the UK in a three day long tournament match with $600,000 in prize money on the line.
Starting in April, racing will take place every other week, and in July, it will kick up to weekly matches that last three days. Three times a year, a Grand Prix Race will be held, culminating in a World Keirin King of the King match.
It’s unclear whether the league will divide the prize purse equally between men and women.
Will DerbyWheel bring sport betting on cycling to the mainstream?
While DerbyWheel’s vision is first and foremost about bringing Keirin racing to a global audience, sport betting around it is just as important to their vision of how the sport can grow. In fact, the prize purse itself, DerbyWheel says, will be sustainable thanks to the sport betting that takes place around the Keirin. (More info on where in the world you can place bets is here.)
It is clear that there will be more men racing than women, though: The first match of the year, organized in cooperation with British Cycling, will feature 36 male and 24 female Keirin Cyclists.
Details of the DerbyWheel 2024 season will be announced later this year. More information can be found at derbywheel.com. Want to participate? Riders can register their interest at derbywheelplayer.com.
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