Keirin Controversy Concerning “Cycling Cash Claims”
Monday, July 28th, 2008Ever wonder how you get a new sport into the Olympics? The BBC seems to think that one way to do it is with cash. Big, million dollar stacks of cash. They claim that a Japanese cycling association paid $3,000,000 to cycling’s international governing body (the UCI) to get the “keirin” included in the slate of Olympic velodrome events.
I don’t really care about the scandal. I assume that everything about the Olympics preparation, from the venue to the events, is decided by bribery. It’s just a good segue for me to explain how awesome the keirin is. It works like this: the racers have to stay behind a pace setter (who rides either a bike or motorcycle) for most of the race. The pace setter starts out going medium-slow (about 20 mph), and over the course of about 8 minutes slowly ratchets the speed up to 30+ mph. The cyclists jockey for the prime position, right behind the pace setter. Then, at a prederminded spot about a half mile from the finish, the pace setter pulls off the course and it’s a free for all.
Check out this video (1:33) and you’ll get the idea. The action starts with the pace setter (in purple) pulling off the track.
The Japanese had to pay $3,000,000 to get that in the Olympics? Who wouldn’t want that in the Olympics? How much did Russia have to pay to get Rhythmic Gymnastics in the Olympics?
