4th Tour of Japan, Cat 2.4

Japan, May 16-23, 1999

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Stage 3, Circuit at Japan Cycle Sports Centre, Shuzenji, 146.4 kms:

Miwako Sasaki, who is reporting from the Tour of Japan for cyclingnews.com writes that Australian Nick Gates, who is riding with the German Die Continentale team, won Stage 3 of the 4th Tour of Japan when he beat Pole Andrzej Sypytkowski (Mroz). The overall green leader's jersey went to Sypytkowski however. 94 riders started on the circuit at the Japan Cycle Sports Center in Shuzenji (12.2 kms x 12 laps) in heavy rain. The weather was bad all through the stage - wet, high humidity 96%, temperature 19C.

The first two mountain premies went to New Zealand's Graeme Miller and he confirmed his hold on the red mountain jersey [Bill notes: What! Graeme in the KOM jersey!] After second mountain premie (68 kms to the finish), there was bad crash at the front of peloton, which now was down to about 50 riders. On the descent from the top, on a sharp corner American Frank McCormack began the mayhem when he came down. Japan's Yoshiyuki Abe was also involved and was forced to retire. He spoke to Miwako about the bad accident: "When we went down in a line at the descent, the 4th of 5th wheel from the front fell. 4 or 5 other riders went down including McCormack. I could not avoid it. I jumped up to get back on my bike but fell down and was unable to continue."

McCormack , who is the favorite to win the race and was in 18th place after Stage 2 at 10 seconds was unable to move from the road and was taken to hospital. It was later reported that he had broken ribs and may require surgery. The crash created confusion in the peloton. 7 riders attacked off the front and formed a solid break. The group included Italians Denis Lunghi (Polti) and Emmanuele Negrini (Cantina Tollo), Poles Sypytkowski and Alkadiusz Wojtas (Mroz) , American Chris Wherry (Saturn), Frenchman Christophe Gauthier and the Australian Nick Gates. They maintained a 2 minutes advantage on the main group until the end. Finally, Gates attacked with 2 kms to go and only Lunghi and Sypytkowski followed. But they could not get his wheel and Gates went on to win. Gates told Miwako after the presentation ceremony the the weather was poor: "Bad Weather! I had to wait for the last couple of laps before I made my attack to finish."

Tomorrow is a rest day and the race transfers to Motegi where Stage 4 will be held on the very flat motor racing circuit. 

  1. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                   4.33.06 (32.160 km/h)
  2. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                 0.08
  3. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                  0.14
  4. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                    0.16
  5. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)              0.21
  6. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                      0.24
  7. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures        0.56
  8. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)             2.46
  9. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                       2.46
 10. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                 2.46
 11. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                   2.46
 12. Hans-Kurt Brand (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                 2.46
 13. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                  2.46
 14. Benoit Luminet (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures             2.56
 15. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                  2.58
 16. Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                4.23
 17. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                             5.41
 18. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                               5.41
 19. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)              5.44
 20. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                              6.44
 21. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                              6.51
 22. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   7.51
 23. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                           9.59
 24. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                           9.59
 25. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                          9.59
 26. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures         10.04
 27. Cristiano Colleoni (Ita) Team Polti                           10.04
 28. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.07
 29. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                 10.11
 30. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.11
 31. Stephane Auroux (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures           10.15
 32. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                             10.15
 33. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                   10.15
 34. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)              10.15
 35. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                10.15
 36. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                 10.15
 37. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                     10.15
 38. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                 10.15
 39. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                               10.15
 40. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               10.35
 41. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                 13.18
 42. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                              13.18
 43. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                             13.18
 44. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                18.13
 45. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                18.13
 46. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)            21.08
 47. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                      21.08
 48. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)             21.08
 49. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               21.08
 50. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                     21.13
 51. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                21.13
 52. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                  21.13
 53. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures          23.17
 54. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                   23.17
 55. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                            23.17
 56. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      23.58
 57. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      23.58
 58. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                     23.58
 59. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                          23.58
 60. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                    23.58
 61. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                  24.03
 62. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                       25.03
 63. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi              25.06
 64. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                      25.11
 65. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                            25.11
 66. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   25.11
 67. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)         26.16
 68. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                    31.50
 69. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                31.58
 70. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                     31.58
 71. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                     36.18
 72. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                      37.14
 73. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                      39.16
 74. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                      39.45
 75. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                   39.56
 76. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                   40.23
 77. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                  40.23
 78. Ryan Russell (NZ) New Zealand                                 40.23

Finished outside time:

Tae Ho Kim (Kor) Korea
Yasunori Kato (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)
Ho-Sung Cho (Kor) Korea
Darren Murray (NZ) New Zealand
Morito Yamamoto (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi
Masahiro Yasuhara (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)

Did not finish:

Frank McCormack (USA) Saturn
Taechan Chang (Kor) Korea
Yoshiyuki Abe (Jap) Shimano Racing
Shinji Ikeda (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)
Cristiano Colleoni (Ita) Team Polti
Jacek Mickiewicz (Pol) Mroz
Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) Team Polti
Eiko Takahashi (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)
Richard Chassot (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia
Hideto Yukinari (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing

GC after Stage 3 

  1. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                             11.27.01
  2. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                      0.01
  3. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                  0.06
  4. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                      0.16
  5. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                    0.17
  6. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures        1.17
  7. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                       2.47
  8. Hans-Kurt Brand (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                 2.47
  9. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                  2.47
 10. Benoit Luminet (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures             2.57
 11. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                  2.59
 12. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                   3.02
 13. Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                4.24
 14. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                             5.36
 15. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                               5.39
 16. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)              5.45
 17. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                 6.59
 18. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   7.52
 19. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                          10.00
 20. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                         10.00
 21. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                10.04
 22. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)              10.06
 23. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                 10.12
 24. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                          10.15
 25. Stephane Auroux (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures           10.16
 26. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                10.16
 27. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                               10.16
 28. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                             10.16
 29. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.23
 30. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                 10.40
 31. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures         10.43
 32. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.49
 33. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                     10.52
 34. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.56
 35. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                   11.25
 36. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                             11.47
 37. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               11.59
 38. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                              13.19
 39. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                             13.34
 40. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                 13.41
 41. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)             15.38
 42. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                18.14
 43. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                18.44
 44. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)            18.52
 45. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               21.09
 46. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)            21.09
 47. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                     21.13
 48. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                      21.28
 49. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                   23.18
 50. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                            23.37
 51. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures          24.02
 52. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                    24.10
 53. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                          24.14
 54. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      24.14
 55. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                  24.22
 56. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                  24.26
 57. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      24.29
 58. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                       25.04
 59. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                   25.48
 60. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC (Jap)                     26.34
 61. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)             26.48
 62. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                 26.54
 63. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor (Jap)                27.02
 64. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                            27.42
 65. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi              29.10
 66. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                31.59
 67. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA (Jap)                      37.37
 68. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                     37.38
 69. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                      38.31
 70. Alan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                      39.27
 71. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                  40.24
 72. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)         41.33
 73. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                      41.41
 74. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                    47.07
 75. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature (Jap)                   48.57
 76. Ryan Russel (NZ) New Zealand                                  50.12
 77. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                   53.06
 78. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                    1.00.28

Points:

  1. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                    9
  2. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                     6
  3. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                         5
  4. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                  5
  5. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                         4
  6. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                                4
  7. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                       3
  8. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                    2
  9. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                    1
 10. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia (Ita)                 1

Mountains:

  1. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                   20
  2. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                       6
  3. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                    5
  4. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                     4
  5. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                     4
  6. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures           2
  7. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                   2
  8. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                          2
  9. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                     1
 10. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                         1
 11. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                      1

Teams:

  1. Mroz                                                       34.24.00
  2. Die Continentale Olympia                                       2.38
  3. Nippon-Hodo-Besson-Chaussures                                 11.22
  4. Team Polti                                                    13.01
  5. Bridgestone Anchor                                            15.03
  6. Cantina Tollo-Alexia                                          15.57
  7. Shimano Racing                                                23.42
  8. New Zealand National Team                                     24.34
  9. Kazakstan National Team                                       24.45
 10. Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                                   40.23
 11. Saturn Cycling Team                                           43.44
 12. Australian National Team                                      53.35
 13. Team JPCA                                                     54.50
 14. Miyata Subaru Racing                                          56.13
 15. Cheblo Artnature                                            1.28.19
 16. Korean National Team                                        1.28.19
 17. Inoac B-CKS IRC                                             1.28.19