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8th Tour of Japan - 2.5
Japan, May 23-30, 2004
Main Page Results Previous Stage
Stage 6 - May 30: Hibiya city - Ooi Wharf Circuit, Tokyo, 149.1km
Fukushima wins Tour of Japan
By Miwako Sasaki, Japan Cycle Sports
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As the 8th Tour of Japan finished in Tokyo today, Japanese rider Shinichi Fukushima (Team Bridgestone Anchor) wore the green leader's jersey right to the end of the stage and was crowned the winner of his national tour.
The race had good weather this year, but the Tokyo stage was the hottest and the temperatures were over 30 degrees. 15 riders made a breakaway in the early part of the race: Andrew Randell (Jet Fuel Coffee), Glen Chadwick and Edmund Hollands (Giant Asia Racing Team), Roman Gugger (Team Macandina), Karsten Volkmann (VC Frankfurt-Radteam-Bruegelman), Ngai Ching Wong (Hong Kong National Team), Masamichi Yamamoto (Shimano Racing), Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Ind. Racing Team), Yoshinori Iino (Sumita-Ravanello-Pearlizumi), Nicolas Sanderson and yellow sprint jersey wearer Aaron Kemps (Australia National Team), Franco Sebastian (Team Etxeondo), Stefano Guerrini (Team Nippo) and Akira Kakinuma (Kinan CCD), who was the best placed rider on GC, but was 12'00 behind Fukushima.
The peloton, which was controlled by Team Bridgestone Anchor, didn't chase the break, and the leaders gained over 6'00 at the 60 km to go mark. The break thinned down as Italian Stefano Guerrini tried to escape at 50 km to go, reducing it to nine riders with the peloton at 6'50. Ex-Kelme rider and second placed on GC, Roberto Lozano (Etxeondo), attacked from the peloton at 25 km to go, but Team Bridgestone Anchor caught him quickly.
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Guerrini flew away again from the break at 10 km to go and nobody caught him this time. He finished the final stage solo, and gave his Team Nippo its second stage win. "I knew I wasn't the strongest sprinter in the break and I have experience as a professional for four years," said Guerrini. "I thought we would be caught by the peloton because the break didn't work together at 35km to go, so I decided to go early."
The peloton, including Fukushima and Lozano, finished in a bunch, and a huge crowd of spectators celebrated the Japanese rider who was holding the arms up in his final triumph. It's the first time that a Japanese rider has won the GC in the Tour of Japan and although the race has been reduced in classification from 2.4 to 2.5, limiting the field to national and division III trade teams, the Japanese riders are gradually becoming stronger.
Akira Asada, the director of Team Bridgestone Anchor said, "We had a plan to win the Tour of Japan from the beginning of the season. We are very happy to prove that we are the team that is suitable for winning."
Race winner Fukushima added on the podium, "Please invite more strong foreign teams. I still have the confidence to win the race!"
Australian National Team Report
By Brian Stephens, Australian Under 23 Team Manager
The last stage to the Tour of Japan was held on a flat circuit starting in Tokyo itself and then, after 17km, beginning a 8km lap to be completed 14 times. The group split not long after entering the circuit with a group of 14 getting clear including Nick Sanderson and Aaron Kemps. Aaron was keen to finalize his grip on the sprint jersey, which he did by winning the first sprint. With two laps remaining, the effort told when he lost contact with the group as Stefano Guerrini attacked to take the win. Nick Sanderson sprinted well to run third on the stage behind fellow Australian Eddie Hollands from Giant Asia. The overall was won for the first time by a local rider in Shinichi Fukushima from Bridgestone Anchor. David Betts held on to eighth overall.
Photography
Images by Miwako Sasaki/Japan Cycle Sports
- Race Leader Shinichi Fukushima (Team Bridgestone Anchor) is relaxed with his teammate Takehiro Mizutani in the morning.
- The Australian Team in the morning.
- Only Guozhang Wang (9th on GC!) could start as one of the Chinese National Team in the final stage.
- The final stage started in the centre of Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
- Japanese Champion Yasutaka Tashiro (Team Bridgestone Anchor) leads the peloton for his team leader Shinichi Fukushima (Team Bridgestone Anchor).
- Australian Aaron Kemps was in the break and kept his Yellow Sprint Jersey.
- The break lead by Ngai Ching Wong (Hong Kong National Team) and Stefano Guerrini (Team Nippo) behind him.
- There were a lot of spectators at the finish.
- Final stage winner Stefano Guerrini (Team Nippo) smiling on the podium.
- Shinichi Fukushima (Team Bridgestone Anchor became the first Japanese winner of the Tour of Japan.
- Roberto Lozano (Team Etxeondo) is smiling on the podium, although he couldn't take the green jersey
- Roberto Lozano (Team Etxeondo) drinks champagne with his team after the protocol, as he must to go back to Barcelona on the night flight today.
- Aitor Galdos (Team Nippo) won the climber's competition.
- Australian Aaron Kemps got the special souvenir of the sprinter's competition.
- The whole of Bridgestone Anchor is satisfied in the press conference.
Results
1 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 3.25.50 2 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 0.02 3 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 4 Ngai Ching Wong (HKg) Hong Kong China 5 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 6 Roman Gugger (Swi) Team Macandina 7 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 8 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Kinan CCD 9 Sebastian Franco (Spa) Team Etxeondo 10 Kojiro Nakagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 11 Karsten Volkmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 12 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 13 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 1.06 14 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 3.45 15 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 16 Kevin Miller (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 17 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Kinan CCD 18 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 19 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) Team Nippo 20 Takeshi Hashimoto (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 21 Vladislavs Lukasenko (Lat) Team Fuji Bikes 22 Kyoshi Miura (Jpn) Kinan CCD 23 Danny Sijen (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 24 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong China 25 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 26 Kuan Hua Lai (Tpe) Giant Asia Racing Team 27 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 28 Roberto Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 29 Ryan Roth (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 30 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 31 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 32 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 33 David Betts (Aus) Australian National Team 34 Henning Jaecks (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 35 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 36 Mikhail Teteriouk (Kaz) Team Nippo 37 Marc Hohmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 38 Guozhang Wang (Chn) People's Republic of China 39 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team 40 Christian Heule (Swi) Team Macandina 41 Marcel Klaus (Swi) Team Macandina 42 Maarten De Jonge (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 43 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 44 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing 45 Bruno Buetiger (Swi) Team Macandina 46 Michael Mueller (Swi) Team Macandina 47 Bas Robroek (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 48 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Team Nippo 49 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 50 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Shimano Racing 51 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 52 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 53 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 54 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 55 Osamu Sumida (Jpn) Kinan CCD 56 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong China 57 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 58 Miguel Luis Pena (Spa) Team Etxeondo 59 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing 60 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 61 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano Racing 3.51 62 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 63 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 64 Takashi Nakazato (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 3.54 65 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Kinan CCD 3.59 66 Allan Iacuone (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 4.00 67 Manabu Hirose (Jpn) Kinan CCD 4.01 68 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 4.05 69 Patrik Kohler (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 4.06 70 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 4.39 71 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 4.57 72 Maikel Paas (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 5.31 73 Andrew Randell (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 9.31 Final general classification 1 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 20.07.56 2 Roberto Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 0.14 3 Christian Heule (Swi) Team Macandina 0.15 4 Mikhail Teteriouk (Kaz) Team Nippo 0.40 5 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing 0.45 6 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 0.53 7 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 1.18 8 David Betts (Aus) Australian National Team 1.50 9 Guozhang Wang (Chn) People's Republic of China 1.51 10 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Iri) Giant Asia Racing Team 1.57 11 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 2.16 12 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 3.36 13 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 4.20 14 Kuan Hua Lai (Tpe) Giant Asia Racing Team 6.41 15 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team 6.44 16 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Kinan CCD 8.14 17 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 9.15 18 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 10.30 19 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Shimano Racing 11.08 20 Karsten Volkmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 11.21 21 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Team Nippo 11.27 22 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 11.57 23 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing 12.03 24 Marcel Klaus (Swi) Team Macandina 15.56 25 Sebastian Franco (Spa) Team Etxeondo 17.04 26 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano Racing 17.20 27 Kyoshi Miura (Jpn) Kinan CCD 20.41 28 Miguel Luis Pena (Spa) Team Etxeondo 23.22 29 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) Team Nippo 23.36 30 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 25.37 31 Bruno Buetiger (Swi) Team Macandina 32 Ngai Ching Wong (HKg) Hong Kong China 26.53 33 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Kinan CCD 29.50 34 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 32.10 35 Manabu Hirose (Jpn) Kinan CCD 33.32 36 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 33.58 37 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 34.15 38 Michael Mueller (Swi) Team Macandina 34.20 39 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 35.04 40 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 35.05 41 Bas Robroek (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 35.08 42 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 35.27 43 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 37.56 44 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 40.00 45 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 41.32 46 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 43.10 47 Roman Gugger (Swi) Team Macandina 43.15 48 Andrew Randell (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 45.11 49 Maarten De Jonge (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 46.12 50 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 49.50 51 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 50.52 52 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Kinan CCD 53.37 53 Marc Hohmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 55.48 54 Osamu Sumida (Jpn) Kinan CCD 56.49 55 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong China 57.39 56 Takeshi Hashimoto (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 59.25 57 Kevin Miller (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 59.36 58 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 1.00.09 59 Allan Iacuone (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 1.01.12 60 Henning Jaecks (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 1.02.05 61 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.03.08 62 Danny Sijen (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 1.06.58 63 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 1.07.20 64 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 1.07.36 65 Maikel Paas (Ned) Team Fuji Bikes 1.10.07 66 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 1.11.23 67 Kojiro Nakagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 1.11.36 68 Ryan Roth (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee 1.18.27 69 Vladislavs Lukasenko (Lat) Team Fuji Bikes 1.18.29 70 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi 1.19.11 71 Takashi Nakazato (Jpn) Team Etxeondo 1.20.16 72 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong China 1.25.59 73 Patrik Kohler (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 1.33.54 Points classification 1 Roberto Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 11 pts 2 Mariusz Wiesiak (Pol) Team Nippo 9 3 Andre Schulze (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 9 4 Christian Heule (Swi) Team Macandina 8 5 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 7 6 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 7 7 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 7 8 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 6 9 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 5 10 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 4 11 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) Team Nippo 3 12 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 3 13 David Betts (Aus) Australian National Team 2 14 Guozhang Wang (Chn) People's Republic of China 2 15 Ngai Ching Wong (HKg) Hong Kong China 2 16 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 2 17 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 1 18 Jan Ramsauer (Swi) Team Macandina 1 19 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1 Mountains classification 1 Alonso Aitor Galdos (Spa) Team Nippo 15 pts 2 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing 12 3 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing 10 4 Sebastian Franco (Spa) Team Etxeondo 8 5 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano Racing 5 6 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing 4 7 Miguel Luis Pena (Spa) Team Etxeondo 4 8 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team 2 9 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 2 10 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Kinan CCD 2 11 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 2 12 Bruno Buetiger (Swi) Team Macandina 2 13 Roberto Lozano (Spa) Team Etxeondo 1 14 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1 15 Edmund Hollands (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 1 16 Allan Iacuone (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 1 Sprints classification 1 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Australian National Team 20 pts 2 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing 13 3 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Team Nippo 11 4 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Giant Asia Racing Team 10 5 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan-Ind Racing Team 6 6 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Australian National Team 5 7 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor 4 8 Karsten Volkmann (Ger) VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brügelmann 2 9 Richard Moffatt (Aus) Australian National Team 1 Teams classification 1 Shimano Racing 60.28.48 2 TEAM BRIDGESTONE ANCHOR 0.34 3 Team Macandina-Kewa Rad-VC Gippingen 7.05 4 Team Etxeondo 14.59 5 Team Nippo 20.16 6 Australian National Team 26.45 7 Giant Asia Racing Team 29.03 8 Kinan CCD 47.24 9 Miyata-Subaru Racing Team 1.02.19 10 Aisan-Ind Racing Team 1.25.37 11 VC Frankfurt Radteam-Brugelmann 1.55.22 12 Team Fuji Bikes 2.17.45 13 Hong Kong China 2.36.14 14 Jet Fuel Coffee 2.57.15
