Tour of Japan - 2.2

Japan, May 20-27, 2007

Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage Next Stage

Stage 4 - May 23: Iida Stadium - Shimohisakata - Matsuo Stadium, 155.3 km

Iglinskiy back in business

By Miwako Sasaki

Kazakh Valentin Iglinskiy has regained his grip on the 11th Tour of Japan, taking both the stage win and green leader's jersey in a 22-man sprint to the Matsuo Stadium in Minamishinshu. The Kazakhstan National Team rider beat Kam Po Wong (Hong Kong Pro Cycling) and Stage 3 winner Francesco Masciarelli (Acqua e Sappone-Caffe Mokambo) and now holds a tenuous 11-second lead over Masciarelli's team-mate Alessandro Donati with three stages remaining.

Following a transfer day tomorrow, Friday's mountain time trial ascent of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, will be an important test for the GC riders before the final hilly stage on Saturday. Acqua e Sappone still hold a strong hand with Masciarelli sitting a further 11 seconds adrift of Donati. "The Italian team dictates this race and the other teams follow," explained 2004 winner Shinichi Fukushima. "That's just the way this race flows."

Fukushima himself sits just 35 seconds off the lead and is also among the favourites along with his Nippo-Corporation team-mate Yukiya Arashiro.

How it unfolded

Today's stage comprised 12 laps of a hilly circuit with hostilities started by the always aggressive Japanese rider Koji Fukushima (Nippo Corporation). He was joined by Akira Kakinuma (Team Miyata) and South African Herman Fouche (Team Konica Minolta) with the trio building a three minute advantage at 10 laps to go.

Acqua e Sappone's red train was doing the business for their man in green Aurelien Passeron but with four laps remaining the break still had two minutes over the shrinking peloton. Fouche was struggling in the break and ultimately went backwards to be swallowed up by a group of 25 riders that had detached itself from the main group.

This chasing group, which didn't include green jersey Passeron, had now shrunk to around 18 riders and caught the two Japanese breakaways on the circuit's hilly section. Iglinskiy proved quickest in the final dash with previous leader Passeron losing over 12 minutes and all hopes of a high overall placing.

Results

1 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                        4.17.09
2 Kam-Po Wong (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                         
3 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                      
4 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                  
5 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada        
6 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada           
7 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                               
8 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada          
9 Thijs Zonneveld (Ned) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                         
10 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                               
11 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                         
12 Cameron Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                                  
13 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                 
14 Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                              
15 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                        
16 Timo Honstein (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                             
17 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                               
18 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                             
19 Francesco Di Paolo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        
20 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                           
21 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                               
22 William Ford (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                                   
23 Alexandr Dymovskikh (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                         0.08
24 Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        
25 Chris Froome (Ken) Team Konica Minolta                                     1.24
26 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Team JBCF                                                
27 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                           
28 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                 2.34
29 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                                 
30 René Schild (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                               
31 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada           
32 Shinya Oba (Jpn) Team JBCF                                                     
33 Yasuhiro Nito (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                              
34 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                      4.01
35 Jay Thompson (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                     5.17
36 Dennis Van Niekerk (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                   
37 Aleksey Lyalko (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                              6.13
38 Mitsunari Mitaki (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                 
39 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                            
40 Keita Iwashima (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         7.37
41 Jonas Owczarek (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                        9.08
42 Makoto Nakamura (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                           9.42
43 Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                 
44 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                
45 Yusuke Hatanaka (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                  
46 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                         
47 Masanari Komuro (Jpn) Team JBCF                                                
48 Kazunari Asano (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                               
49 Keisuke Kamata (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                               
50 Tiaan Kannemeyer (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                     
51 Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                               
52 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada           
53 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                    12.32
54 Ho Ting Kwok (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                       
55 Norihide Murayama (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                
56 Naoki Mukaigawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                          
57 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada         
58 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                            
59 Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                         
60 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                    
61 Kaoru Obata (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                                
62 Herman Fouche (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                        
63 Christof Van Heerden (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                 
64 Arthur Ayers (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                                 
65 Andrea Rossi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                              
66 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                         
67 Takamitu Tsuji (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                            
68 Shinpei Fukuda (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                
69 Sean Finning (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                                   
70 Yosuke Kojima (Jpn) Team JBCF                                                  
71 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                          
72 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                           17.52
73 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                     24.21
DNF Tomoya Sano (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                             
DNF Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                       
DNF Hitoshi Urushizawa (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            
DNF Miles Olman (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                                   
DNF Jumpei Murakami (Jpn) Team JBCF                                               
DNF Masaru Fukuhara (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                 
DNF Yoshimitsu Tsuji (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                        
DNF Hideo Yoshida (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                             
DNF Hideya Akiyama (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                        
DNF Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                              
DNF Gang Xu (Chn) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                           
DNF Hisanori Akiyama (Jpn) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                      
DNF Keita Onishi (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                              
DNF Christian Lademann (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                       
DNF Jamsran Ulzii-Orshikh (Mgl) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                 
DNF Wang Yip Tang (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                     
DNF Robin Reid (NZl) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                            
DNF Sergei Kudenisov (Rus) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                      
DNF Christoph Schweizer (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                      
 
General classification after Stage 4
 
1 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                       15.03.32
2 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                      0.11
3 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada       0.12
4 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                  0.22
5 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                  
6 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                            0.24
7 Kam-Po Wong (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                     0.25
8 Francesco Di Paolo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                     0.26
9 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada      0.35
10 Thijs Zonneveld (Ned) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                        
11 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                              
12 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada       
13 Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                              
14 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                         0.42
15 Timo Honstein (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                             
16 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                               
17 Alexandr Dymovskikh (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                         0.43
18 Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        
19 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                           0.47
20 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                 
21 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                           
22 William Ford (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                               1.29
23 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                    1.41
24 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                       1.59
25 Chris Froome (Ken) Team Konica Minolta                                         
26 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            2.11
27 Chun Hing Chan (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                 3.21
28 Shinya Oba (Jpn) Team JBCF                                                 3.47
29 René Schild (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                           4.05
30 Yasuhiro Nito (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                          4.50
31 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                             4.59
32 Mitsunari Mitaki (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                             7.00
33 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                        7.56
34 Keita Iwashima (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         8.24
35 Aleksey Lyalko (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                              8.43
36 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada           
37 Jonas Owczarek (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                       10.17
38 Masanari Komuro (Jpn) Team JBCF                                           10.29
39 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                     10.43
40 Makoto Nakamura (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                          10.55
41 Yusuke Hatanaka (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                             10.59
42 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada      11.23
43 Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                            11.30
44 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                           11.48
45 Kazunari Asano (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                          12.06
46 Cameron Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                             12.39
47 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                    12.41
48 Dennis Van Niekerk (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                              12.51
49 Shinpei Fukuda (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                           13.16
50 Jay Thompson (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                    13.17
51 Herman Fouche (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                   13.39
52 Ho Ting Kwok (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                  14.34
53 Christof Van Heerden (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                            15.17
54 Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                          15.48
55 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                               16.03
56 Yosuke Kojima (Jpn) Team JBCF                                             16.34
57 Tiaan Kannemeyer (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                17.16
58 Andrea Rossi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                         17.20
59 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada    18.15
60 Norihide Murayama (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                           18.16
61 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                    18.56
62 Ken Hashikawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                       19.32
63 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                           20.15
64 Kaoru Obata (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                           20.45
65 Naoki Mukaigawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                     24.39
66 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                     25.13
67 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                     25.25
68 Sean Finning (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                              35.46
69 Keisuke Kamata (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                          44.24
70 Gang Xu (Chn) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                       45.08
71 Hisanori Akiyama (Jpn) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                  46.12
72 Kin San Wu (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                    47.14
73 Jumpei Murakami (Jpn) Team JBCF                                           47.58
74 Yoshimitsu Tsuji (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                    53.16
75 Hideya Akiyama (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                    55.56
76 Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                    57.12
77 Masaru Fukuhara (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                             58.39
78 Christian Lademann (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                 1.05.41
79 Hideo Yoshida (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                       1.08.49
80 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                        1.18.15
81 Hitoshi Urushizawa (Jpn) Team JBCF                                      1.22.08
82 Arthur Ayers (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                          1.23.28
83 Takamitu Tsuji (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                            
84 Keita Onishi (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                        1.30.53
85 Tomoya Sano (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                       1.33.32
86 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                 1.55.17
87 Miles Olman (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                                    
 
Points classification
 
1 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                             49 pts
2 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada         31
3 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                    25
4 Kam-Po Wong (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                       22
5 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada        19
6 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        18
7 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                18
8 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        18
9 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com - AIS                              17
10 Yoshinori Iino (Jpn) Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                             12
11 Herman Fouche (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                      10
12 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                        10
13 Francesco Di Paolo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                       7
14 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada      6
15 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                   6
16 Shinpei Fukuda (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                               5
17 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                             4
18 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada        3
19 René Schild (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                              3
20 Jonas Owczarek (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                           3
21 Thijs Zonneveld (Ned) Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team                       2
22 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                       2
23 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                         2
24 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Skil - Shimano                                          1
25 Keita Iwashima (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                            1
 
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada          12 pts
2 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                12
3 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                               12
4 Kam-Po Wong (HKg) Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                        8
5 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                 8
6 Herman Fouche (RSA) Team Konica Minolta                                        7
7 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada       5
8 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada           5
9 Masaru Fukuhara (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                                  5
10 Andrea Rossi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                             5
11 Makoto Nakamura (Jpn) Myata - Subaru Racing Team                              3
12 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                        2
13 Francesco Di Paolo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                       2
14 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                             2
15 Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                       2
 
Teams classification
 
1 Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo                                          45.11.21
2 Nippo Corporation - Meitan Honpo Co LTD - Asada                             0.45
3 Kazakhstan National Team                                                    0.51
4 Skil - Shimano                                                              2.38
5 Aisan Racing Team                                                           9.30
6 Myata - Subaru Racing Team                                                 10.57
7 Team Sparkasse                                                             14.19
8 Team Konica Minolta                                                        14.54
9 Team JBCF                                                                  15.42
10 Hong Kong Pro Cycling                                                     16.26
11 Team Bridgestone Anchor                                                   18.01
12 Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                                               23.50
13 South Australia.com - AIS                                                 32.13
14 Nalsima Frend                                                             33.14
15 Matrix Powertag                                                           35.03
DNF Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team