4th Tour of Japan, Cat 2.4

Japan, May 16-23, 1999

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Stage 4 Report from Miwako Sasaki

Miwako Sasaki, who is reporting from the Tour of Japan for cyclingnews.com writes that New Zealand's Graeme Miller won Stage 4 of the Tour of Japan which was held at the Motor Racing Circuit of Twin Rings Motegi. The race involved 12 laps of the 12.38 kms circuit plus a 4.8 kms final circuit. Although the final sprint was won by Fabio Sacchi, Miller was given the race after the Italian was disqualified.

78 riders started under a clear sky with the temperature sitting on 21 degrees Celsius. By the time the riders had finished it had risen to 30C. It was also a little windy. American Frank McCormack, who was hurt in the crash on Stage 3 appears to have suffered broken ribs, bruised kidney and injuries to his small intestine. He was operated on yesterday and will stay in Japan for 4 weeks while he recuperates.

On the first lap of the motor circuit, 6 riders - Fabio Sacchi (Team Polti), Brendan Vesty (NZ), Sergey Lavrenenko (Kazakstan), Jimmy Hansen (Saturn), and two Japanese riders attacked. Australian Nathan O'Neill jumped from the peloton and bridged the gap to the leading group. The 7 riders built up a lead of 2 minutes and at that stage the Polish Mroz team started to control the chase. The gap remained for a long time but after 11 laps Cantina Tollo went to the front to help organise the chase. The move quickly reduced the gap that the 7 riders enjoyed.

After 12 laps, Sacchi, O'Neill and the Japanese rider Ken Hashikawa attacked from the front group with the other 4 riders being caught by the fast moving peloton. From the peloton, two riders - Graeme Miller (NZ) and Brian Walton (Saturn) jumped and got across to the Sacchi group. Finally, it was Sacchi and Miller who attacked again and in the 2-person sprint it was Sacchi who crossed the line ahead of the New Zealander. But the Italian moved in the sprint and impeded Miller's line.

Miwako says: "I didn't think the line was infringed. It seemed that the only people who thought there was an infringement was the NZ team and the judge!" After discussion, 38-year old Miller took the stage with Sacchi being relegated to 2nd. The Pole Sypykowski retained the leader's jersey and tomorrow will be an important stage in his quest to win the overall.

Stage 4, Circuit at Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, 153.36 kms:

  1. Graeme Miller (NZ) New Zealand                              3.45.28 (40.810 km/h)
  2. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti
  3. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                      0.13
  4. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                      0.13
  5. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                    0.13
  6. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                     0.17
  7. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                         0.17
  8. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                 0.17
  9. Bjorn Glasner (Ger) Die Continentale/Olympia                   0.17
 10. Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz                                       0.17
 11. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                   0.17
 12. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                             0.17
 13. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                0.17
 14. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                0.17
 15. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                 0.17
 16. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                             0.17
 17. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures          0.17
 18. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                   0.17
 19. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                                0.17
 20. Christophe Gauthier (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures        0.17
 21. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                       0.17
 22. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                  0.17
 23. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures           0.17
 24. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                    0.17
 25. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                      0.17
 26. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                  0.17
 27. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                              0.17
 28. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA                                   0.17
 29. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                      0.17
 30. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                      0.17
 31. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                       0.17
 32. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                              0.17
 33. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                       0.17
 34. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                     0.17
 35. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                           0.17
 36. Hans-Kurt Brand (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                 0.17
 37. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA                             0.17
 38. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Die Continentale/Olympia                  0.17
 39. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                  0.17
 40. Jason Phillips (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                  0.17
 41. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC                          0.17
 42. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                               0.17
 43. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                              0.17
 44. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                              0.17
 45. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA                                 0.17
 46. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                 0.17
 47. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                       0.17
 48. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                              0.17
 49. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                       0.17
 50. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                          0.17
 51. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                       0.17
 52. Benoit Luminet (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures             0.17
 53. Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                      0.17
 54. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                  0.17
 55. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                   0.17
 56. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                    0.17
 57. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC                            0.17
 58. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                         0.17
 59. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA                                 0.17
 60. Ryan Russell (NZ) New Zealand                                  0.23
 61. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                              0.23
 62. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                          0.23
 63. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                   0.25
 64. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA                              0.43
 65. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                 3.52
 66. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                       6.37
 67. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                    6.37
 68. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                6.40
 69. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                               6.40
 70. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                    6.40
 71. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                      6.40
 72. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               6.40
 73. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                    7.28
 74. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                           7.41
 75. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                       9.21
 76. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                      12.06
 77. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                         17.55

Did not finish:

Stephane Auroux (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures

GC after Stage 4 

  1. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                             15.12.46
  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        0.17
  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                      4.24
 14. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                             5.36
 15. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                    5.41
 16. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                 6.59
 17. Tetsuya Okada (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                         7.52
 18. Graeme Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                 9.49
 19. Hidenori Nodera (Jap) Shimano Racing                          10.00
 20. Naofumi Imanishi (Jap) Shimano Racing                         10.00
 21. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                      10.04
 22. Keita Seino (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                 10.12
 23. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA                                10.15
 24. Leonardo Guidi (Ita) Team Polti                               10.16
 25. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                 10.16
 26. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                             10.20
 27. Vladim Kravchenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.23
 28. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                    10.26
 29. Sebastien Laroche (Fra) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures         10.43
 30. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.48
 31. Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Kazakstan                             10.49
 32. Scott Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                     10.52
 33. Daisuke Nakayama (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                   11.25
 34. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                             11.47
 35. Xuezhong Tang (Chn) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               11.59
 36. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                              12.32
 37. Sergey Beloussov (Kaz) Kazakstan                              13.19
 38. Andrey Kashechnin (Kaz) Kazakstan                             13.34
 39. Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Kazakstan                                 13.41
 40. Naokiyo Hashisako (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                      18.44
 41. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                  18.52
 42. Makoto Iijima (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi               21.09
 43. Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                  21.09
 44. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                     21.09
 45. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                21.45
 46. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                   22.01
 47. Takahiro Yamada (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC                         23.18
 48. Kyoshi Miura (Jap) Team JPCA                                  23.37
 49. Nobuhiro Mashimo (Jap) Nippon Hodo-Besson Chaussures          24.02
 50. Kazuyuki Manabe (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                    24.10
 51. Kazuya Okazaki (Jap) Team JPCA                                24.14
 52. Akihiro Osawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      24.14
 53. Michael Rogers (Aus) Australia National Team                  24.22
 54. Masanari Tate (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                      24.29
 55. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                  24.31
 56. Yasuhiro Nakajima (Jap) Team JPCA                             25.30
 57. Ken Hasikawa (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                         25.54
 58. Shinji Suzuki (Jap) Inoac B-CKS IRC                           26.34
 59. Warren Clark (NZ) New Zealand                                 26.54
 60. Junichi Shibuya (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                      27.02
 61. Shinri Suzuki (Jap) Shimano Racing                            27.42
 62. Grzegorz Wajs (Pol) Mroz                                      27.48
 63. Cameron Mcdonald (Aus) Australia National Team                31.59
 64. Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                   33.38
 65. Daisuke Sakuta (Jap) Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi              35.33
 66. Hideyuki Nishiyama (Jap) Team JPCA                            37.37
 67. Adham Sbeih (USA) Saturn                                      38.31
 68. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                     39.19
 69. Takeshi Okamoto (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                        40.24
 70. Jimmy Hansen (Den) Saturn                                     44.01
 71. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia               47.56
 72. Ryan Russell (NZ) New Zealand                                 50.18
 73. In Chan Park (Kor) Korea                                       53.3
 74. Susumu Oikawa (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                          54.31
 75. Nobuhide Suezawa (Jap) Miyata Subaru Racing                 1.00.17
 76. Makio Madarame (Jap) Cheblo Artnature                       1.06.35
 77. Jong-Jae Kim (Kor) Korea                                    1.09.32

Points:

  1. Andrzej Sypytkowski (Pol) Mroz                                    9
  2. Greame Miller (NZ) New Zealand                                    8
  3. Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Polti                                     6
  4. Nick Gates (Aus) Die Continentale/Olympia                         5
  5. Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                        5
  6. Chris Wherry (USA) Saturn                                         4
  7. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Team Polti                                4
  8. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                     4
  9. Allan Davis (Aus) Australia National Team                         3
 10. Arkadiusz Wojtas (Pol) Mroz                                       3
 11. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                    2
 12. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn                                         2
 13. Shinichi Fukushima (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                       1
 14. Emanuele Negrini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia                       1

Sprints:

  1. Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz) Kazakstan                                12
  2. Osamu Sumida (Jap) Shimano Racing                                10
  3. Glen Mitchell (NZ) New Zealand                                    5
  4. Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Australia National Team                      4
  5. Osamu Kurimura (Jap) Team JPCA                                    4
  6. Brendon Vesty (NZ) New Zealand                                    3
  7. Dariusz Wojciechowski (Pol) Mroz                                  2
  8. Tomoya Kanou (Jap) Shimano Racing                                 1
  9. Tomokazu Fujino (Jap) Bridgestone Anchor                          1
 10. Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Polti                                     1
 11. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn

Teams:

  1. Mroz                                                       45.41.15
  2. Die Continentale Olympia                                       2.38
  3. Nippon-Hodo-Besson-Chaussures                                 11.22
  4. Team Polti                                                    12.37
  5. Bridgestone Anchor                                            14.59
  6. Cantina Tollo-Alexia                                          16.17
  7. Shimano Racing                                                23.42
  8. New Zealand National Team                                     24.07
  9. Kasakstan National Team                                       24.37
 10. Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                                   40.23
 11. Saturn Cycling Team                                           43.40
 12. Australian National Team                                      53.27
 13. Team JPCA                                                     54.50
 14. Miyata Subaru Racing                                          56.13
 15. Cheblo Artnature                                            1.35.43

Graeme Miller's Report

Today was at a motor racing track and there were roads all over the place plus two car\motorbike circuits which made up the very twisting course today. It had a few little hills so it wasn't bad to race on at all. A group of 7 went away at the very start and we had Vesty in it. And Mroz were left to set tempo all day. What a shame! Vest did a great job picking up two second places in the hot spot sprints - can you believe that? No it's true! With 4 to go Cantina Tollo when to the front to help bring it back for their sprinter. With 2 to go only three of the original 7 were off the front Walton put in a hard attack I went with him, as a good mate should, we were away just. Brian swung off after a real hard turn and I went again. I got to the three with an Aussie on my wheel. It split on the last lap up the climb and only a Polti and I were left so it was head down to the line. This is where it all got a little exciting. Mr Polti sat on from 800m out and I was happy to lead him out. It was a head wind up to the line. I jumped at 3\4 pace with 250 to go, I was hard to the right of the road, Mr Polti starts to pass, thinking I was full out. As he pulls even I kick again sensing he was in trouble and he moved me even harder to the right until I rubbed my hand on the concrete barrier. Yeah he totally squeezed me out. But all was not lost as the whole thing was live on a huge TV at the track. He was DQed and I had the win thank-you very much. Not the best way to win but I don't know why he did such a silly move as the finish straight was about 4 lanes wide!!!!!! I'm rapt with a stage. Glen still has the climber's jersey and Vest has a chance for the sprint jersey. The team is going well.