Paris Olympics: Men's Keirin preview

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Men's Keirin held on August 11 at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome outside Paris

A pacer is seen leading the race prior to the start ahead of Matthew Glaetzer of Team Australia during the men's Keirin quarterfinals heat 3 of the track cycling on day sixteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
A pacer is seen leading the race prior to the start ahead of Matthew Glaetzer of Team Australia during the men's Keirin quarterfinals heat 3 of the track cycling on day sixteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Image credit: Getty Images)
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The track cycling events at the Paris Olympics begin on Monday, August 5 and conclude on August 11 at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome outside Paris.

The men's Keirin will begin on August 10 with the finals taking place on August 11. The event will feature 33 riders from 19 nations.

Men's Keirin competitors

  • Matthew Glaetzer (Australia)
  • Leigh Hoffman (Australia)
  • Matthew Richardson (Australia)
  • James Hedgcock (Canada)
  • Nick Wammes (Canada)
  • Cristian David Ortega Fontalvo (Colombia)
  • Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (Colombia)
  • Rayan Helal (France
  • Sebastien Vigier (France)
  • Stefan Boetticher (Germany)
  • Maximilian Doernbach (Germany)
  • Luca Spiegel (Germany)
  • Jack Carlin (Great Britain)
  • Hamish Turnbull (Great Britain)
  • Mikhail Yakovlev (Israel)
  • Shinji Nakano (Japan)
  • Yuta Obara (Japan)
  • Kaiya Ota (Japan)
  • Andrey Chugay (Kazakhstan)
  • Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania)
  • Mohd Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
  • Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
  • Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
  • Sam Dakin (New Zealand)
  • Qi Liu (China)
  • Yu Zhou (China)
  • Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
  • Jean Spies (South Africa)
  • Jair Tjon en Fa (Suriname)
  • Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand)
  • Kwesi Browne (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago)

Men's Keirin contenders

Great Britain will be without the decorated Jason Kenny at the Paris Olympic Games as the track cyclist has retired from the sport. However, the team field a strong duo in Jack Carlin and Hamish Turnbull.

After winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang will represent Malaysia in an effort to secure the gold medal this time around.

Three-time world champion Harrie Lavreysen will lead the Dutch team of two, which also includes Jeffrey Hoogland. Lavreysen took the bronze medal in Tokyo, and the team will undoubtedly want to better that performance with a gold medal.

Jair Tjon en Fa of Suriname and Matthew Glaetzer of Australia were among the top five in Tokyo, and they are medal contenders in Paris.

Of course, these riders will have to beat reigning World Champion Kevin Quintero of Colombia, who secured his rainbow jersey in Glasgow last summer, bumping Lavreysen off the throne. 

In that World Championships Keirin race, Australia's Matthew Richardson and Japan's Shinji Nakano finished second and third, respectively. Both riders will be in the running for the medal in Paris.

Men's Keirin schedule

  • August 10: First round - 17:19 CET
  • August 10: Repechages - 19:21 CET
  • August 11: Quarterfinals - 11:29 CET
  • August 11: Semifinals - 12:29 CET
  • August 11: Finals - 13:23 CET
Kirsten Frattini
Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.

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