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8th Tour of Japan - 2.5
Japan, May 23-30, 2004
Stage 1 - May 23: Shinnittetsu Ironworks Circuit, Sakai City (Osaka), 96.8km
Wiesiak wins first stage
By Miwako Sasaki, Cycle Sports Japan
Mariusz Wiesiak (Team Nippo) won the first stage of the 8th Tour of Japan in a bunch sprint ahead of Andre Schulze (VC Frankfurt-Radteam-Bruegelman) and Aaron Kemps (Australia). 23 year-old Polish Wiesiak joined the Japanese TT3 Team Nippo this year and already won the Giro del Lago Maggiore and a stage of the Paths of King Nikola in March, and a stage of the Szlakiem Grodow Piastowskich in April.
94 riders from 16 teams, including eight TT3's and three national teams started the first stage (96.8 km). It was 22 laps in Sakai-shi, Osaka, the biggest city in Japan's west. Japanese rider Masamichi Yamamoto (Shimano Racing) got the Sprint Jersey today as he was part of a breakaway of 10 riders which was recaught by the bunch at 10 km to go.
The second Stage in Nara (146.2km) will be a hard race as it's hilly circuit, and this year's overall leader will be found in the peloton.
Australian National Team Report
By Brian Stephens, Australian Under 23 Team Manager
Today was the first stage of this year's Tour of Japan in Osaka. The Mapei Aqua Australian team racing here consists of Aaron Kemps, Nick Sanderson, David Betts, Ashley Humbert, Richard Moffatt and Bernard Sulzberger. Other Aussies riding are Allan Iacuone, Eddie Hollands and Glen Chadwick riding for the Giant Asia team. The course was different to previous years with this year's being a 4.4km circuit on the harbour, with a stiff breeze blowing across it. The break went on the firstt of the 22 laps and was formed of 10 riders including Richard Moffatt. The group was caught with three laps to go with many riders loosing contact due to the speed of the chase in the winds. A group of about 50 sprinted to the line with the win going to Polish rider, Mariusz Wiesiak from the Nippo team and Aaron Kemps running third.
Results
1 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 2.09.23 2 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 3 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 4 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 5 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 6 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 7 Marcel Klaus (Swi) Team Macandina 8 Robert Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 9 Christian Heule (Swi) Team Macandina 10 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 11 Ngai Ching Wong (HKg) Hong Kong China 12 Karsten Volkmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 13 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 14 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 15 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 16 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 17 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano Racing 18 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing 19 Kyoshi Miura (Jpn) Kinan CCD 20 Bruno Buetiger (Swi) Team Macandina 21 Guozhang Wang (Chn) People's Republic of China 22 Mikhail Teteriouk (Kaz) Team Nippo 23 Sebastian Franco (Spa) Team Etxeondo 24 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 25 Kevin Miller (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 26 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Kinan CCD 27 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team 28 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Team Nippo 29 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing 30 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 31 Michael Mueller (Swi) Team Macandina 32 Andrew Randell (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 33 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 34 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Kinan CCD 35 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 36 Kai Tsun Lam (HKg) Hong Kong China 0.06 37 David Betts (Aus) Australian National Team 38 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 39 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 40 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) Team Nippo 0.21 41 Roman Gugger (Swi) Team Macandina 42 Ahad Kazemi Sarai (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 0.41 43 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 44 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Shimano Racing 45 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong China 46 Bas Robroek (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 47 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 48 Maikel Paas (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 0.45 49 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 0.46 50 Chun Ming Tsoi (HKg) Hong Kong China 0.47 51 Kojiro Nakagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 52 Henning Jaecks (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 0.50 53 Kuan Hua Lai (Tpe) Giant Asia Racing Team 0.54 54 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.00 55 Hiroshi Sakaguchi (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.04 56 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 1.10 57 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.36 58 Koki Shimbo (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 59 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 1.42 60 Ken Akita (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 4.20 61 Takeshi Hashimoto (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 62 Thorben Wieditz (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 63 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 64 Vladislavs Lukasenko (Lat) Team Fuji Bikes 65 Miguel Luis Pena (Spa) Team Etxeondo 4.23 66 Jianshi Luo (Chn) People's Republic of China 67 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong China 68 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 69 Hideaki Asano (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 5.15 70 Osamu Sumida (Jpn) Kinan CCD 71 Manabu Hirose (Jpn) Kinan CCD 5.19 72 Shinichi Amagasa (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 73 Marc Hohmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 74 Matthew Hansen (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 75 Maarten De Jonge (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 76 Jiguo Li (Chn) People's Republic of China 77 Danny Sijen (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 78 Ryan Roth (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 79 Long Jin (Chn) People's Republic of China 80 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Kinan CCD 81 Marco Engels (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 82 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 83 Takashi Yamada (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 84 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 85 Tetsuya Ishida (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 86 Allan Iacuone (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 5.22 87 Patrik Kohler (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 9.01 88 Takashi Nakazato (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 9.09 89 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 9.15 90 King Wai Cheung (HKg) Hong Kong China 10.26 91 Mario Schmidt (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 11.19 92 Shinya Numata (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 93 Luanyun Feng (Chn) People's Republic of China 94 Kazutaka Fukao (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 11.22 General classification after stage 1 Bannatyne 1 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 2.09.13 2 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 0.04 3 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 0.06 4 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 0.10 5 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 6 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 7 Marcel Klaus (Swi) Team Macandina 8 Robert Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 9 Christian Heule (Swi) Team Macandina 10 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 11 Ngai Ching Wong (HKg) Hong Kong China 12 Karsten Volkmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 13 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 14 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 15 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 16 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 17 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano Racing 18 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing 19 Kyoshi Miura (Jpn) Kinan CCD 20 Bruno Buetiger (Swi) Team Macandina 21 Guozhang Wang (Chn) People's Republic of China 22 Mikhail Teteriouk (Kaz) Team Nippo 23 Sebastian Franco (Spa) Team Etxeondo 24 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 25 Kevin Miller (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 26 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Kinan CCD 27 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team 28 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Team Nippo 29 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing 30 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 31 Michael Mueller (Swi) Team Macandina 32 Andrew Randell (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 33 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 34 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Kinan CCD 35 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 36 Roman Gugger (Swi) Team Macandina 37 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 38 Kai Tsun Lam (HKg) Hong Kong China 0.16 39 David Betts (Aus) Australian National Team 40 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 41 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 42 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) Team Nippo 0.31 43 Ahad Kazemi Sarai (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 0.51 44 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 45 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Shimano Racing 46 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong China 47 Bas Robroek (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 48 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 49 Maikel Paas (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 0.55 50 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 0.56 51 Chun Ming Tsoi (HKg) Hong Kong China 0.57 52 Kojiro Nakagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 53 Henning Jaecks (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 1.00 54 Kuan Hua Lai (Tpe) Giant Asia Racing Team 1.04 55 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.10 56 Hiroshi Sakaguchi (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.14 57 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 1.20 58 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.46 59 Koki Shimbo (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 60 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 1.52 61 Ken Akita (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 4.30 62 Takeshi Hashimoto (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 63 Thorben Wieditz (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 64 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 65 Vladislavs Lukasenko (Lat) Team Fuji Bikes 66 Miguel Luis Pena (Spa) Team Etxeondo 4.33 67 Jianshi Luo (Chn) People's Republic of China 68 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong China 69 Hideaki Asano (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 5.25 70 Osamu Sumida (Jpn) Kinan CCD 71 Manabu Hirose (Jpn) Kinan CCD 5.29 72 Shinichi Amagasa (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 73 Marc Hohmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 74 Matthew Hansen (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 75 Maarten De Jonge (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 76 Jiguo Li (Chn) People's Republic of China 77 Danny Sijen (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 78 Ryan Roth (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 79 Long Jin (Chn) People's Republic of China 80 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Kinan CCD 81 Marco Engels (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 82 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 83 Takashi Yamada (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 84 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 85 Tetsuya Ishida (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 86 Allan Iacuone (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 5.32 87 Patrik Kohler (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 9.11 88 Takashi Nakazato (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 9.19 89 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 9.25 90 King Wai Cheung (HKg) Hong Kong China 10.36 91 Mario Schmidt (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 11.29 92 Shinya Numata (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 93 Luanyun Feng (Chn) People's Republic of China 94 Kazutaka Fukao (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 11.32 Points classification 1 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 5 pts 2 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 4 3 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 3 4 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 2 5 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 1 Sprints classification 1 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 9 pts 2 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 8 3 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 6 4 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 1 Teams classification 1 Team Macandina-Kewa Rad-VC Gippingen 6.28.09 2 Team Nippo 3 Australian National Team 4 Shimano Racing 5 Team Bridgestone Anchor 6 Kinan CCD 7 Giant Asia Racing Team 0.41 8 Hong Kong China 0.47 9 VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brugelmann 0.50 10 Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 1.28 11 Aisan-Ind Racing Team 2.04 12 Jet Fuel Coffee 4.20 13 Team Etxeondo 4.23 14 Team Fuji Bikes 5.46 15 People's Republic of China 9.42 16 Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 10.34
