Four GB riders – Jason Kenny, Ross Edgar, Craig Maclean and Matthew Crampton – will be among those battling some of Japan’s leading specialists for the top spot and big prizes in a spectacular Japanese Keirin Association (JKA) invitation event at the opening night of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester on Sunday 2 November.

The Manchester UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is the first major international track cycling event following the Beijing Olympic Games and will feature the world’s best riders.

In Japan, keirin racing is one of the few ways that it is legal to gamble, and it draws massive crowds and big prizes. The event is a test of the competitors’ strength, stamina and wits. Riders often co-operate with each other in events that see 6 to 9 sprinters doing battle in the mass start race. The riders remain behind a derny pacer to start with before the pacer peels off two laps to teh end, leaving the riders to sprint for the win.

The Japanese Keirin Association (JKA) invitation race riders include:

Kazunari WATANABE, Japan
Kazuya NARITA, Japan
Hiroyuki INAGAKI, Japan
Seiichiro NAKAGAWA, Japan
Yudai NITTA, Japan
Ross EDGAR, Great Britain (Newmarket)
Jason KENNY, Great Britain (Bolton)
Matthew CRAMPTON, Great Britain (Manchester)
Christos VOLIKAKIS, Greece
Shane PERKINS, Australia
Denis SPICKA, Czech Republic
Adam PTACNIK, Czech Republic
Jose Antonio ESCUREDO RAIMONDEZ, Spain
Hodei MAZQUIARAN URIA, Spain
Michael D’ALMEIDA, France
Teun MULDER, Netherlands
Andriy VYNOKOUROV, Ukraine
Denis DMITRIEV, Russia
Craig MACLEAN, Great Britain
TANG Qi, China
Barry FORDE, Barbados
Gaddi CHAIT, South Africa

Find out more at www.trackworldcup.co.uk.