CQ27_FINAL_SPREADS (1)

barriers that men have not. This
is bad for any sport, because
small pools of talent tend to
be shallow, and a shortage
of genuinely competitive
participants tends to produce
predictable and so unexciting
outcomes. But for a sport that
exists to generate not just
sporting but also gambling
action it is a disaster. In early
keirin racing a small handful
of women dominated, and the
gamblers lost interest.
The resurrection of women’s
keirin appears to be an attempt
to drag the sport into the
modern (and wider) world.
The women are allowed to use
carbon frames and wheels, for a
start, rather than something Reg
Harris might have regarded as
rather old hat. The races stick to
the Olympic rules, rather than
the traditional Japanese format,
meaning much less tolerance
for aggression and collisions,
and making it much easier – at
least in theory – to involve
international riders.
But if the resurrected
women’s keirin is a shot
at internationalisation and
modernisation it leaves a lot to
be desired. It is officially called –
I can hardly bring myself to write
it – “Girl’s Keirin” (that abysmal
apostrophe is only about the
third-worst thing about the
phrase). The authorities may
allow new and different frames
and wheels but continue to insist
that the women use approved
saddles designed for the men,
resulting in what McCurry
calls “an epidemic of genital
chafing”. Women’s racing is
marketed with the slogan “It’s
not about pretty faces, it’s about
big thighs!” There are no women
in senior administrative positions
in keirin’s regulatory authorities.
Overall, the attitude of the
sport to women is perhaps best
illustrated by two rules of keirin
school: firstly, the young female
athletes who attend must take
classes in applying make-up; and
secondly, they are not allowed
to wear make-up while at the
school.
Gambling explains many other
features of keirin, not only the
ones that I had noticed and
puzzled over. This gives McCurry
the opportunity to cast light
on themes that go beyond the
merely sporting. If you have
read as many keirin articles as
me – or, given that they are all
the same, if you have read at
least one – you will know that
it is the corrupting influence of
Japan’s gangs, the infamous
yakuza, which explains the
decision to quarantine riders
during events.
Much more surprising is the
discovery that the yakuza are
not illegal. In fact, they have
business cards, corporate
logos and smart offices, whose
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