PETALING JAYA: The sight of Sato Shintaro proudly holding up a winner’s cheque of Japanese Yen 103,400,000 (RM4mil) for winning the Japan Keirin Grand Prix race in the last weekend of 2019 created a big buzz in the international cycling fraternity.
The Japanese rider, after 13 years of trying, finally earned the right to be crowned the national champion after what was the richest cycling race in history. And he did it in style at the Tachikawa Velodrome on the outskirts of Tokyo by beating Yuta Wakimoto, the reigning Asian keirin champion and is now expected to lead Japan’s chase for gold when they host the Tokyo Olympics in August.