Keirin 30th class trio completes Special debuts

Moon Shin-junseo(S2, Gimpo), Park Je-won(S1, Chungnam Individual) and Yun Myeong-ho(S1, Jinju), known as the 30th class 'Big 3' in keirin, have completed their Special-class debuts and entered the top-tier field.

Moon Shin-junseo was the first of the three to race in the Special class at the 27th meet. The runner-up graduate ranked No. 2 in popularity in the preliminary race held on the 3rd, then used an opponent's front-running move before launching a late overtaking attack with half a lap left. He passed the leader and won his Special-class debut, recording the final 200m at 10 seconds 86.

The run did not continue through the Saturday race on the 4th. Kim Tae-wan(29th class, S2, Dong Seoul) led from the front, and Park Yong-beom(18th class, S1, Gimhae B) checked Moon, preventing him from using his main overtaking move. In the final, Moon placed Gimpo teammate Kim Woo-gyeom(27th class, SS) behind him and chose an aggressive front-running race, but he crashed on the final straight.

Park Je-won and Yun Myeong-ho had different Special-class debut outcomes at the 28th meet. Park held off Kim Hyeong-wan(17th class, S1, Gimpo) to win from the front, and the next day he kept using his front-running strength against established Special-class riders including Shin Eun-seop(18th class, S1, Dong Seoul) and Choi Dong-hyun(20th class, S1, Gimpo) to extend his winning run.

In the final, Park met Im Chae-bin(25th class, SS, Suseong), one of keirin's strongest riders, for the first time as a professional after the two had been sprint rivals as amateurs. Im placed Park in front of him from the opening lap, and Park again chose a front-running contest. Park finished 3rd, just 0.0015 seconds behind Jeong Ha-neul(21st class, S1, Dong Seoul). At the 29th meet, he placed 2nd in the preliminary race and the independent match, then 7th in the Special-class final.

Yun Myeong-ho left both signs of potential and areas to address. The top graduate finished 5th in his first race and placed 6th in the Saturday race after attempting a front-running contest against Im Chae-bin. In his final Sunday race, Yun again chose to lead from the front and held off the chase from stronger riders to finish 2nd.

Park Jin-soo, team leader at the keirin forecast sheet Keirin Doctor, said Park Je-won had been tested in both front-running ability and race management in his debut. Park said, 'Park Je-won is the rider with the highest chance of quickly joining the ranks of Special-class contenders. Moon Shin-junseo has strong quickness and explosive power, so if the aftereffects of his final crash are not significant, he can become a dark horse in the Special-class field. On the other hand, Yun Myeong-ho will need to raise his front-running competitiveness further and improve his race management to maintain competitiveness.'