Eiya Hashimoto is the rider enjoying the Track Champions League more than any other

If Eiya Hashimoto looked like he was enjoying his Track Champions League debut last Saturday, that’s because he was.

The rider from Japan couldn’t keep the smile from his face the entire evening, even after the crash that occurred at the start of the men’s elimination, and which saw more than half the field taken out.

“It’s very different to racing for the Olympics, which every time is focussed on the results and sometimes it’s not much fun,” he said. “Here, it’s always fun.”

Hashimoto was among a group of seven riders who took a lap on the field, and which caught the bunch with just a few rotations remaining. Having done so he only needed to be first across the line of those seven to win the race.

The modest-mannered man puts the win down to “good luck, because many strong riders watched each other, stayed back, and I could easily break away.”

Of the two events the endurance riders compete in each week, Hashimoto said: “Both are my favourite but the elimination is my most favourite. You need legs and you need smarts.”

He didn’t fare quite so well in the second race of the evening, but got knocked out in a perfectly respectable fifth place, easily scoring enough points to secure the first men’s endurance league leader’s jersey of this year’s competition.

“I’m looking forward to wearing it in Berlin,” he said, ahead of the second round on Saturday.

Although he considers the Track Champions League leader’s jersey the crowning sporting glory of his career so far, the proudest achievement of his career comes not in the shape of medals or victories, but in being an inspiration to people watching to take up cycling.

Hashimoto named London as the Track Champions League round he’s most looking forward to but said: “One day I’d like to race the TCL in Japan. That’s my dream.”

Paris 2024 is another dream, of course, and Hashimoto says he is “very happy to be racing in Saint-Quentin before the Olympics.”

He’s pleased with how his preparation for that is going. He said his Japanese team-mates are “very excited to be racing the team pursuit.” Japan is currently ranked eighth in the world in that competition, with 10 teams qualifying to compete in Paris.