Cycle-ball worlds: Japan names its squad for Ludwigsburg

Japan's indoor cycling federation has picked its cycle-ball teams for the World Championships from 30 October to 1 November: Murakami/Tokuhiro for the men, Yoshimura/Tokuhiro for the women.

The Japan Federation of Indoor Cycling (JFIC) announced on 24 October that Yusuke Murakami and Noboru Tokuhiro of RSV KOBE will represent Japan in the men's cycle-ball event. Their clubmate Taiga Uramoto travels as the reserve. Japan's women's team consists of Yuka Yoshimura (SYK) and Sayaka Tokuhiro (308.Link).

Playing as RSV KOBE 1, Murakami and Tokuhiro won the Japanese championship on 30 August, which doubled as the selection event; Uramoto finished second there with RSV KOBE 2. The two women play for different clubs at home: at the same tournament Yoshimura was runner-up with SYK and Tokuhiro took third place with 308.Link.

The championships run from 30 October to 1 November at the MHP Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany. They had originally been scheduled for 16 to 18 October in Derby, Great Britain. The federation lists Sebastian Kotb as its cycle-ball staff member.