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War On Wheels - Inside Keirin and Japan's Cycling Subculture (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R521
Discovery Miles 5 210
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War On Wheels - Inside Keirin and Japan's Cycling Subculture (Hardcover)
(1 rating, sign in to rate)
Loot Price R521
Discovery Miles 5 210
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
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The Olympic cycling sport of keirin was invented in Japan more than
70 years ago to raise money to rebuild the country after World War
II. Now, fans bet billions of dollars a year on races, with the top
riders earning huge sums. In each race, a pacemaker leads nine
riders around huge concrete velodromes, then leaves the track with
around a lap and a half to go - the cue for a frantic finish as the
competitors reach speeds of up to 70 kph. Along the way they block
and shove each other, clash heads and occasionally crash (the two
Japanese characters used to write keirin mean 'battle' and
'wheel'). To prevent race fixing, the cyclists spend meets living
in dorms, with no access to online technology. Their lives are
ruled by ritual and fierce competition, from their rookie days at
the Japan Keirin School near Mount Fuji to the annual Grand Prix
final, whose winner takes home prize money of almost one million
dollars. A small number of foreign riders are invited to compete in
Japan every year and some, like Shane Perkins, have overcome
culture shock to prosper in the home of keirin. The Olympic version
- which has made stars of Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Victoria
Pendleton - is being taken more seriously in Japan as Tokyo
prepares to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Justin McCurry,
the Guardian's Japan and Korea correspondent, explores a
blue-collar Japan we rarely see and a uniquely fascinating sporting
culture.
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