MY LAST RACE

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I liked to travel with the bicycle that had been assembled for myself at high school days. and I started cycle racing in the Hosei University age.

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For me, 1kmTT was a specialty.

The all-time personal best at that time was 1 minutes 08 seconds 29.
My best race result was 3rd place in a Japan track cycling championship.

I got the engineer's job after college.

After a while, to become KEIRIN rider, I left engineer's company.

The reason is this.
My teammate SHIGENORI INOUE at university days became professional KEIRIN rider, succeeded very much, and became famous.

And, Japanese professional KEIRIN rider Mr.Koichi Nakano that was completely unnamed in the bicycle game field in the world won the championship with world track cycling championships sprint for the first time and was a world champion at the same time.

Afterwards, he kept continuously winning the championship ten times (still Guinness record).

He changed into the player with the most famous world in the realm of sport.

Koichi Nakano - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The frame that had kept being used until he retired was NAGASAWA of NAKANO red.

NAGASAWA frame became famous worldwide because of the activity of Koichi Nakano.

Yoshiaki Nagasawa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He earned the prize offor 100 million JPY ($1,015,744.0) (100,000,000JPY /$98.45) or more in total in one year (in 1980).

[ame=[MEDIA=youtube]rzLdyxDSK2I[/MEDIA]]YouTube - Round 2 1982 World Pro Sprint Final Nakano v Singleton[/ame]

(He retires in 1992 and is doing the sports commentator now. )

The event invited me to become KEIRIN rider.

Afterwards, I entered KEIRIN school to pull the pin and to become professional KEIRIN rider. The passing time of my test was 1 minutes 10 seconds 5.
The deadline was a stand for 1 minutes 13 seconds.

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I debuted with Kagetsuen Keirin velodrome on April 30, 1982.
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Kanagawa Kagetsuen Keirin Velodrome 400m

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2007International　keirin in JAPAN
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Rookies debut from the class of the subordinate position most. (B-class.There is no B-class now)
Race result of my debut is Preliminary 4th place, semifinal 3rd place,final 7th place.

To our regret, Kagetsuen KEIRIN velodrome closed in March this year because of the sales deficit.

I was not able to come in 1st place easily after it had debuted. After five months had passed, I won for the first time in 1st place.

I have not retired yet now. At June.

The last race schedule of me is a schedule in the end of June. It will be decided next week. maybe 26th/June.
Generally, the last race becomes velodrome of local. It is likely to become Tokyo Tachikawa for me.

I began to write the diary until my last racing.
私はラストレースまでの日記を書き始めました

This is a part of my bicycle life.
これは私の自転車人生のほんの一部です

Tomity-san,

Great post! Please consider putting it on FixedGearFever.com where there is only track racking discussed so that others may enjoy it.

Good luck with everything and thank you again for a great story.

After five months had passed, I won for the first time in 1st place.
I kept winning the next day (semifinal) and the final day (final) coming in 1st place, too and continuously three times. and, I did the wire-to-wire victory by the series.

KEIRIN race of Japan is usually held for three days (the preliminary contest, the semifinal, and the final).
It was a miracle that continued three times for me.

And, all the winning wire-to-wire victories are called 3(San) Rensho.
It is pronounced San(three) rensho (consecutive victory) in Japanese.

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The brand name of 3Rensho originates in this wire-to-wire victory.
3Rensho is a name that brings luck really for KEIRIN rider.

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I became accustomed to the race well and learnt the method of victory from the experience since it debuted.
The society decides the ranking by the race result of KEIRIN rider every half a year. The ranking is divided into S-class(Super Star,S-1,S-2) and A-class(A-1,A-2,A-3).
Each class can recognize it by the color of the line of pants.

Super Star class(red based>black line>white star),S-class(black based>red line),A-class(black based>green line)

Relation between Kalavinka and me.
The name of the frame builder of Kalavinka is Mr.Akio Tanabe.

Mr. Tanabe in young age (Mt. Fuji Hill climb time trial)

He was famous track rider in my high school days that represented Japan.
I watched amateur track race with Tachikawa KEIRIN velodrome for the first time on a certain day.

And, I saw his race for the first time.
He won the race the championship by overwhelming strength.

A lot of high school students (Tokyo) at that time yearned to him.
I was one person in that.
I determined to become track rider at once. And, I asked father for the track bike purchase.

Mr.Tanabe was 1968 Mexico Olympics games Japanese representative candidate. However, he was not able to participate in the representative player frame by one person alone.

I learnt the thing of a lot of bicycle games from him.
About a basic figure of running and the riding form, the race operation and it is the bicycle machines technological, etc, about all of cycling.

Keirin ambassador
Tomity

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Great post, Tomity. Our track racing sessions (Australia) usually include some Keirin's. It makes for exciting racing.

At 52, you're doing very well.

Cheers,
Eoin