News & Events

The Cycling Club competed in the 64th All Japan Student Championship Track Cycling Competition held at TIPSTAR DOME CHIBA (Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture) from July 6 to 7, winning three events: men's tandem sprint, women's 3 km individual pursuit, and men's scratch.

On the first day, the pair YOSHIDA Yuito (3rd year, School of Political Science and Economics) and HONDA Toki (2nd year, School of Business Administration), who won bronze medals at the All Japan Inter-College Championship, competed in the tandem sprint, a two-person bicycle competition for first place. They recorded the top time of 13.019 seconds for 250 m in the qualifying round and won all the races, including the final, in straight sets. The pair won this event for the first time. This win was the first time in six years for Meiji University since the pair TAGAWA Kakeru (a School of Political Science and Economics graduate) and KAI Shunsuke (a School of Business Administration graduate) won the 59th All Japan Student Championship Track Cycling Competition.

On the same day, WATABE Kasuga (4th year, School of Political Science and Economics), who placed fourth at the World University Championships Cycling and won the individual time trial at the All Japan Student Championship, participated in the 3 km individual pursuit where two athletes compete for time. She set a new personal best of 3:46.662 to win the race.


The scratch, which runs 60 laps on a course of 250 m per lap and determines the ranking based on the order of arrival at the finish line, had a qualifying round on the first day. KATAOKA Ryoma (4th year, School of Law), KOIZUMI Hibiki (3rd year, School of Political Science and Economics), KOKUBO Rui (3rd year, School of Business Administration), and SUZUKI Rei (2nd year, School of Political Science and Economics) competed in the race and all of them passed the round with high rankings. In the final held on the second day, four players from Meiji University led the race from the beginning. Although there was a neutral lap (*) due to a mass fall, KATAOKA led the bunch strongly. As a result, KOIZUMI won the race, SUZUKI took second place, and KATAOKA persisted in the race and finished third place, making a complete sweep of the podium.

*Neutral lap: The race is suspended and riders continue to run at a constant speed until the safety of the race is ensured


Comment from each player
WATABE Kasuga (Winner of the individual pursuit)
My victory in the 3 km individual pursuit gave me confidence as I was able to stay focused until the end and beat my personal best by two seconds. I am not satisfied with my second place in the points race, and I want to prepare myself to perform even better in the All Japan Inter-College Championship. I was able to run here again with a lot of support from Meiji University. I will do my best again to repay the favor through good results.

YOSHIDA Yuito (Winner of the tandem sprint)
In the tandem sprint, I was able to win the championship, which I had longed for, in my third year. Last year, I was paired with Mr. Nonaka (a School of Business Administration graduate in 2024), and I was disappointed with the result of second place, so this was the competition that I had strong feelings for. Taking the coach's advice as a guide, I insisted on staying ahead of other riders and pushed the pedals as hard as I could every race. I am very happy to have been able to win my victory in front of my parents, who came to the competition venue to cheer me on. In this competition, I felt my growth, but at the same time, my issues became clear. I will train to show my strength in the All Japan Inter-College Championship. Thank you very much for your encouragement and support. Please continue to support us!

HONDA Toki (Winner of the tandem sprint)
I have been working with a strong desire to absolutely win this competition. I was able to show my strength in the race and win the championship. During the race, Mr. YOSHIDA, who was paired with me, raised my morale by saying, "We will definitely win the championship," and "We can do it." Thanks to his encouragement, I was able to do my best in every race without losing my concentration. It was my first national championship in my athletic career, so I was very happy. I want to take on the All Japan Inter-College Championship without letting up here. Please continue to support us.

KOIZUMI Hibiki (Winner of the scratch)
Thank you very much for your support! I am happy to have won the scratch race, which is a prelude to the Inter-College Championship. The race was fast-paced from the qualifying round, but I was able to keep my composure, which led to my victory this time. In the madison race, I missed a pass at the very end and finished as runner-up, but I will definitely win the All Japan Inter-College Championship. Please continue to support us!

≪Japanese version≫