This has been a strange yet burning question I’ve posed to myself of late, and now I’m putting it out there.
By way of precursor, let me say this – I’m not a cycling hobbyist. I’m just curious.
I have an interest that is quite freshly developed due to a couple of cycling projects I have recently created in my profession as a maker of unique sporting stories and projects.
Last year I co-produced an online video content project from a roadside point-of-view during the Tour de France.
We mixed it with the quirky Euro crowds along steep roadsides throughout the jealousy inducing mountain ranges of the French countryside.
I drank Pernot in a strange Frenchman’s front yard as the greatest road race in cycling rolled past my adoring, and at times disbelieving, eyes.
We can all see that road cycling has a solid placing within the Australian sporting ‘mix’. Of course it makes sense, one of our own was its king only a short time ago.
There are those among us that muse over the international road circuit by using words like prestige, endurance, gradient, and egotist.
We wax lyrical about the landscapes (guilty).
We reel European rider names off as though we are effortlessly fluent in their native tongue.
All of these elements must place the discipline atop the cycling family totem like the glorious, golden-haired, uber-popular better sister with all her hand crafted cheek bones and poetic intelligence.
But what about track cycling?
I am now in a position to ask this because since my experience of Le Tour, I’ve experienced the alleged ‘insignificant other’.
Recently, the world of track cycling (good and bad) has been jammed into my face while I’ve been co-creating and co-producing Ryokou, a documentary project covering arguably Australia’s greatest male track cyclist, Shane Perkins. In Japan.
Yes, that’s right. Japan. Here’s where it gets interesting. Ryokou is the Japanese expression for ‘journey’.
For the last four years, Shane has resided and trained for large periods of time in Japan – leaving his family and travelling all over the country to race in the mystique that is the Keirin (Explanation of ‘the Keirin’ will be forthcoming. Read on.).
Each year he is selected to join an elite group of international professionals to race in the National Japanese Keirin Championship.
The lure? A chance to win prize money. Big money. Money exponentially greater than is prized to a crowned Track World Champion in a typical UCI meet, for example.
Japanese Keirin is the perfect pin up for track cycling, and a worthy antithesis of the road stuff.
It certainly ain’t ugly. The anatomy of a Keirin race is artful, and strangely beautiful. It’s slow, then fast.
It’s organised, then completely raw. It’s at once peaceful and powerful.
Rider and machine are like linear peacocks as they start tactically, revealing positioning clues but keeping spectators anxious with desire.
As distance grows so does tension. Nine riders shapeshift with sharp movements over four laps, throwing themselves passionately towards the finish line.
Brakes can’t hinder them, because there are none. Shane Perkins says the best thing to do when in the moment of Keirin is to not think, and just go with your gut. This is my kind of sister.
And so, armed with curiousity, romanticism and an Aussie protagonist, like love drunk Neanderthals we set out to explore the phenomenon that is the Japanese Keirin and its place as a track cycling discipline that shaped a man, and helped to re-shape a broken economy (Keirin re-invests its revenue from mass legal gambling back into Japan’s welfare economy – around $8.3bn AUD to date.).
Like we’ve seen in road cycling years before, our story found its hero. An obsession with competitive track cycling has taken a Shane Perkins through a tumultuous past and shaped a future with no ceiling.
It was all so pretty to me. Rooms full of unique steel framed fixed gear bikes. Afternoon sunlight drenching blue asphalt velodrome banks.
But the reality of this story is that Shane Perkins races the Keirin because there’s a good chance he can’t afford to remain a full-time professional track cyclist if he was to stay in Australia all year round.
Which finally, brings me all the way back to my burning question:
What about track cycling?
I truly hope Ryokou brings this question a little more into the fray.
I feel that although the experiences written about here, and the project itself are inherently international, it’s obvious that Australia suffers a follow-on effect as far as this love affair with cycling discipline goes.
What’s strange is I recently heard that the very first sport to be seen under lights at the Sydney Cricket Ground was, you guessed, it…track cycling. She’s vintage. That’s on trend. I’m into that.
Of course there are those who do give their support to track cycling in this country, because it either benefits them commercially, because it helps athletes like Shane Perkins, or because they just love it.
Or all of the above. They know who they are. And without some of them, a story like Ryokou wouldn’t have even made it around the first bend.
Ryokou will have its worldwide digital release in five short parts, for five consecutive days, at midday from Monday 27 May each day through until Friday 31 May.
Tune into Chasing The Glory from midday each day this week to watch each episode as it is published, or subscribe to the channel to be notified.
Kerry
Guest
Best Track Cyclist??? A long way to go to catch Patto and Danny Clark
Jono Lovelock
Expert
Track cycling already has a 20/20 style approach to things; 6 Days! Beer Music Lot's of Action Recreate that, and we'll get some crowds
Tom Callaghan
Guest
Matty I was crowing about the relative prospects of Australia and Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics as early as 2010!
Matty Roberts
Roar Rookie
Tom this would be the best comment in the thread! But I'm going to sit back and let other readers get into the Lions and Ashes debate!! I just hope you have crowed early mate...
Matty Roberts
Roar Rookie
Thanks for your comments and for the feedback on Ryokou Rowan...keep your eyes out for Episode 5 tomorrow at 12noon. The final instalment. It'll give you a dose of Japanese bike racing, a tiny bit more than SBS2 version. www.youtube.com/chasingtheglory is where to find it.
Joe
Guest
I am a recent convert to track cycling (ok 5 years convert) and race road, crits, track and MTB. All have their good and bad points. However Track has to be the most intense and fun of the lot. You can have 4 races in a night, and if one is stuffed up, then go back and try again. You can't do that in a road race, there is only one chance! From a spectator point of view nothing really goes close to the theatre of track cycling.
HardcorePrawn
Roar Guru
Hey Matty, Just wanted to say that I've been watching the daily episodes on your Youtube channel and reckon it's brilliant. Well done to everyone involved. Who knew the creator of the Daleks was such a talented director too?
Tom Callaghan
Guest
Matty Mate, I think that the disenchantment with track cycling that you perceive derives from the fact that Great Britain's superiority over Australia in the two wheeled racing game is even more marked on the boards than on the road. Expect Australians to fall out of love with Rugby Union and Cricket in the next few months.
Rowan
Guest
PS - I watched Ryokou and enjoyed it, however it would have been great to see more footage of the actual japanese races!
Rowan
Guest
I love watching track cycling, but then again i'm a cyclist myself so I can understand the power and athletic ability that would be required to achieve the speeds and do what they do out there. The flipside though, is that to anyone that is a 'fringe' viewer, its just people on bikes going around in circles. They have no connection with what they are doing, there are so many different types of events with strange rules etc. For casual viewers, this cannot compete with the scenery and colourful sights of a road race/grand tour/classic. Personally I've yet to watch track cycling live but after seeing the crowds at the last 2 major world champ events (I think that's what they were anyway), I can't wait to give it a go - The atmosphere was very stadium like and I'm sure i'd enjoy it trackside.
Matty Roberts
Roar Rookie
Hey Glenn - thanks for reading. I did say 'arguably' and your points have proven that based on results, Shane is yet to reach the milestones of Shane Kelly and the likes. Let's hope he can spend the next few years catching up to those fellas and gain a place amongst that upper echelon in the sport. Let's face it, I'm a little biased too ; ) Cheers
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
Nice article Matty, but I have to disagree with you over your statement that Shane Perkins is "arguably Australia's greatest male track cyclist". Personally, I do not think he is close to earning that title. Reputations and careers are built at World Championships & Olympic Games. To date, Shane has won 2-1-1 at the Worlds, 0-0-1 at the Olympics & 0-0-1 at the Commonwealth Games. Compare that to the likes of: Shane Kelly - Worlds 4-5-5, Olympics 0-1-2, Comm Games 2-0-1, plus a world record Gary Neiwand - Worlds 2-2-1, Olympics 0-2-2, Comm Games 3-0-0 Cameron Meyer - Worlds 6-3-1, Comm Games 3-0-0 Ryan Bayley - Worlds 1-2-2, Olympics 2-0-0, Comm Games 4-0-0 You can also throw in the likes of Stuart O'Grady, Russell Mockridge & Bradley McGee. Shane is a talented cyclist but on the world stage his achievements certainly do not have him up there as the country's greatest track cyclist.
HardcorePrawn
Roar Guru
Thanks for the heads-up Matty, I'll definitely check that out. I think Victoria Pendleton has marketed her image really well in the UK, and probably done more than anyone over there to get new spectators interested in track cycling, maybe even more than the very high profile Chris Hoy. Whether that interest continues now that she's retired from the sport I couldn't say. As an aside, Pendleton also had a massive falling out with British Cycling prior to her retirement and if she were to ever return to the track I think it unlikely that she would want to represent GB again. As she's only 32, still relatively young for a track cyclist to retire I believe, and engaged to an Australian, I'd be surprised if Cycling Australia didn't make some kind of approach to her in future.
ShmaxShmillas
Roar Rookie
Mate..... Shane is spot on. That would just be unreal! I feel the whole subculture of people on bicycles not wanting to be weekend warriors with 24 different options would use these events as stepping stones into the bigger picture, I can really see it taking off. Chandler velodrome is already a viable option for the people of Brisbane and after going on a trial ride with the UQ track squad I'm sure they would love to see more people heading along. Imagine Friday night velodrome racing under lights with a part atmosphere?! Heaven really.
Matty Roberts
Roar Rookie
Shmax - good call on the 20/20 thing. When speaking to Shane during the making of Ryokou, he mentioned that he would love to see a Friday night metro competition start up in Adelaide and maybe other cities, where clubs would race eachother with blaring music and all the crazy sights of velo racing...could be something in that.
Matty Roberts
Roar Rookie
Hey Hardcore Prawn. Dig the name. Thanks for reading Ryokou aired last night on SBS2 here in Australia. Good news is you can tune in online to watch it. An episode will drop every day at noon (Ep1 live now) until Friday. Then from Friday arvo you'll be able to go and watch them all back to back via youtube. Here's the channel the eps are published to: www.youtube.com/chasingtheglory Also really interesting point regarding your thoughts on Pendleton being more well known than someone like Wiggo. Would love to put this to other pommy readers out there for their thoughts. It's no doubt she has done a great job in building the profile of the track in the UK. (still a great feeling for us Aussies to see her with the silver around her neck though..)
ShmaxShmillas
Roar Rookie
I didn't see your post Tom! I feel like I stole your analogy there mate!
ShmaxShmillas
Roar Rookie
Why is she touted as being good looking? Is it because all other olympic women cyclists are atrocious and she wins it by default?
ShmaxShmillas
Roar Rookie
To me, velodrome racing could be the 20/20 to cricket as the big tours are akin to test matches. I wouldn't be surprised with the recent boom in single speeds and fixie's that there are new people taking to the tracks due to the safety (mainly no cars although if Anna Meares is present wear your knee pads and elbow guards) that velodrome racing could take off. It's so much easier to maintain a round track other than a 200km+ classic. I'm excited for what velodrome cycling has to offer in the future, jump on board!
Tom
Guest
It's a bit like T20 vs test match cricket. Track cycling can never match road racing in terms of sheer endurace, tactical wizardry, scheming and plotting amongst the riders and teams, fan presence, or in many cases, staggering scenery.