4th Tour of Japan, Cat 2.4

Japan, May 16-23, 1999

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Stage 2, Todaiji Temple-Nunome Dam Circuit, Nara, 146.75 kms:

Miwako Sasaki, who is reporting from the Tour of Japan for cyclingnews.com writes that Polish Andrzej Sypytkowski won Stage 2 of the 4th Tour of Japan over 146.75 km at Nara. The peloton started in front of a structure which houses the huge statue of Buddha at the Todaiji Temple in the city of Nara. The site and building was selected for world heritage listing last year. The sky was clear and temperature was 23.7 celsius.

For the first 23.5km, from the Todaiji Temple to the Tea Factory on the Nunome Dam Circuit it was neutralised (the riders were in formation and not racing due to traffic security reasons). It was the show parade. When they reached the Nunome Dam Circuit (10.1km x 11 laps plus 13.35kms for the final lap), the flag went down and the race began.

On the first lap of circuit, New Zealander Glen Mitchell and Kazak Pavel Nevdakh attacked and Polish Cezary Zamana (Mroz) followed them. At km 59.5, the first mountain premie (points for first 3) saw Mitchell, who is the New Zealand Champion, first ahead of Nevdakh and Zamana. At km 89.8, the second mountain premie saw Mitchell first and with enough points to hold the Mountain's Jersey. The three riders were caught soon after (100 kms).

After that, New Zealand's Greame Miller, Japan's Makoto Iijima and German Bjorn Glasner (Die Continentale) went off the front but they reeled back in as the peloton went into the final lap of 13.5 kms. At this point, Pole Andrzej Sypytkowski (Mroz), American Chris Wherry (Saturn) and Italian Denis Lunghi attacked. On the final climb leading up to the finish, Sypytkowski went ahead and won the 2nd stage. Italian Moreno Di Biase held on his overall green leader's jersey. Tomorrow is a rest day and the race transfers to Shuzenji for stage 3 on Wednesday. This is a very important stage because the race has been determined on this stage in previous years. 

  1. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                   3.52.38 (37.85 km/h)
  2. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn
  3. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti
  4. Frank McCormack (USA) Saturn                                        0.09
  5. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                         0.09
  6. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                            0.09
  7. Stephane Auroux (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                 0.09
  8. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                       0.09
  9. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                      0.09
 10. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                                    0.09
 11. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                                  0.09
 12. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                                0.09
 13. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                                     0.09
 14. Benoit Luminet (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                  0.09
 15. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                       0.09
 16. Hans-Kurt Brand (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                      0.09
 17. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                           0.09
 18. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                           0.09
 19. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   0.09
 20. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures             0.09
 21. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                     0.09
 22. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                                    0.09
 23. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                    0.09
 24. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                        0.09
 25. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                       0.09
 26. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                      0.09
 27. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                        0.09
 28. Yoshiyuki Abe (Jap) Shimano Racing                                  0.09
 29. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                      0.09
 30. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                               0.09
 31. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                                   0.09
 32. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                        0.09
 33. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                             0.09
 34. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                         0.09
 35. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                      0.09
 36. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                  0.09
 37. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                          0.20
 38. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.24
 39. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                        0.24
 40. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.24
 41. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                            0.24
 42. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                0.24
 43. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                0.28
 44. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                  0.28
 45. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                            0.28
 46. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) Team Polti                                     0.31
 47. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                            0.31
 48. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                       0.31
 49. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                        0.31
 50. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                       0.33
 51. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                            0.39
 52. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                      0.39
 53. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                         0.45
 54. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                           0.45
 55. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures               0.47
 56. Jacek Mickiewicz (Pol) Mroz                                         0.51
 57. Eiko Takahashi (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         0.53
 58. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                0.53
 59. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.53
 60. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                         1.18
 61. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                     1.32
 62. Cristiano Colleoni (Ita) Team Polti                                 1.45
 63. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                            2.33
 64. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                                  2.39
 65. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                           2.44
 66. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                           3.17
 67. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                        3.17
 68. Richard Chassot (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                      3.19
 69. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   4.06
 70. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                    4.12
 71. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                      4.24
 72. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                                   5.17
 73. Ho-Sung Cho (Kor) Korea                                             5.48
 74. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                           5.48
 75. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                   5.48
 76. Morito Yamamoto (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                   5.51
 77. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                      5.57
 78. Hideto Yukinari (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                          6.02
 79. Masahiro Yasuhara (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                             9.09
 80. Taechan Chang (Kor) Korea                                           9.09
 81. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         9.09
 82. Ryan Russell (NZ) New Zealand                                       9.57
 83. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                        12.51
 84. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                           13.23
 85. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                  15.25
 86. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)              15.25
 87. Darren Murray (NZ) New Zealand                                     15.25
 88. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         15.25
 89. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                 16.14
 90. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                      16.47
 91. Yasunori Kato (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                          16.57
 92. Shinji Ikeda (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                           20.45
 93. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                           20.51
 94. Tae Ho Kim (Kor) Korea                                             22.40

Finished outside time limit:

Takehiro Mizutani (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures

Did not finish:

Min-woo Kong (Kor) Korea
Takashi Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)
Taiji Tanaka (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)
Ikki Yoneyama (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi
Mitsuhiro Taninai (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)

GC after Stage 2 

  1. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                 6.53.46
  2. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                      0.01
  3. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                           0.01
  4. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                       0.01
  5. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                                  0.04
  6. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                                    0.07
  7. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                      0.09
  8. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                           0.09
  9. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                         0.10
 10. Stephane Auroux (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                 0.10
 11. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                     0.10
 12. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                      0.10
 13. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                                0.10
 14. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                                    0.10
 15. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                            0.10
 16. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                  0.10
 17. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                        0.10
 18. Frank McCormack (USA) Saturn                                        0.10
 19. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                                     0.10
 20. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                           0.10
 21. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                      0.10
 22. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                       0.10
 23. Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                     0.10
 24. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                        0.10
 25. Yoshiyuki Abe (Jap) Shimano Racing                                  0.10
 26. Hans-Kurt Brand (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                      0.10
 27. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                         0.10
 28. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                               0.10
 29. Benoit Luminet (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                  0.10
 30. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                       0.10
 31. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                      0.10
 32. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   0.10
 33. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                             0.10
 34. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                       0.10
 35. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                                   0.10
 36. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                          0.21
 37. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.25
 38. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.25
 39. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                0.25
 40. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                        0.25
 41. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                            0.25
 42. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                0.25
 43. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                                  0.29
 44. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                            0.29
 45. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures             0.30
 46. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                       0.32
 47. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                            0.32
 48. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                        0.32
 49. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) Team Polti                                     0.32
 50. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                       0.34
 51. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                      0.40
 52. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                            0.40
 53. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                         0.46
 54. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                           0.46
 55. Jacek Mickiewicz (Pol) Mroz                                         0.48
 56. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures               0.48
 57. Eiko Takahashi (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         0.54
 58. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures                0.54
 59. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   0.54
 60. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                         1.19
 61. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                     1.33
 62. Cristiano Colleoni (Ita) Team Polti                                 1.46
 63. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                            2.34
 64. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                                  2.43
 65. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                           2.45
 66. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                        3.18
 67. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                           3.18
 68. Richard Chassot (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                      3.20
 69. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                                   4.07
 70. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                    4.13
 71. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                      4.23
 72. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                                   5.12
 73. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                           5.49
 74. Ho-Sung Cho (Kor) Korea                                             5.49
 75. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                   5.49
 76. Morito Yamamoto (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                   5.52
 77. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                      5.53
 78. Hideto Yukinari (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                          6.03
 79. Taechan Chang (Kor) Korea                                           9.10
 80. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         9.10
 81. Masahiro Yasuhara (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                             9.10
 82. Ryan Russell (NZ) New Zealand                                       9.58
 83. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                        12.52
 84. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                           13.29
 85. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                  15.25
 86. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                         15.25
 87. Darren Murray (NZ) New Zealand                                     15.25
 88. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)              15.25
 89. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                 16.15
 90. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                      16.48
 91. Yasunori Kato (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                          16.53
 92. Shinji Ikeda (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                           20.46
 93. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                           20.52
 94. Tae Ho Kim (Kor) Korea                                             22.41

Points:

  1. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                       5
  2. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                         5
  3. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                              4
  4. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                                     4
  5. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                          3
  6. Jacek Mickiewicz (Pol) Mroz                                            3
  7. Frank McCormack (USA) Saturn                                           2
  8. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                         2
  9. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                            1
 10. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                         1

Mountains:

  1. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                        10
  2. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                         5
  3. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                          4
  4. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                        2
  5. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                               2
  6. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                           1

Teams:

  1. Mroz                                                            20.41.32
  2. Team Polti                                                          0.01
  3. Saturn Cycling Team                                                 0.06
  4. Shimano Racing                                                      0.10
  5. Bridgestone Anchor                                                  0.15
  6. Die Continentale Olympia                                            0.16
  7. Nippon-Hodo-Besson-Chaussures                                       0.35
  8. Team JPCA                                                           0.46
  9. Kazakstan National Team                                             0.46
 10. Miyata Subaru Racing                                                1.12
 11. Australian National Team                                            1.14
 12. Cheblo Artnature                                                    1.30
 13. Sumita Ravanello Perlizumi                                          1.39
 14. New Zealand National Team                                           4.28
 15. Cantina Tollo-Alexia                                                5.45
 16. Korean National Team                                               17.19
 17. Inoac-B-CKS IRC                                                    19.39

Graeme Miller Reports

This was a great circuit around a big dam. The narrow undulating roads made this race hurt a little near the end! Glen was a way with a Kazakhstan and Mroz for 5 laps. But by doing this he ended up in the mountain jersey (sweet) I was away with 4 laps to go with two others and got caught with a little over a lap to go. As we were caught the hammer was down but not as far as my head. The bunch split into pieces on the last two laps Vesty and I were the only Kiwis to make the last split. Glen was just a little tired after his big day out in the sun and the other Kiwis were hurting from lack of hard races. At the end it was there was a group of 4 a few seconds ahead Mroz got the win. Frank McCormack won the bunch sprint for 5th. He is my pick for the overall. He is Mr Everywhere in the race at the moment. He is on good form and has the team to help as well.