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12th Tour of Japan - 2.2

Japan, May 18-25, 2008

Main Page    Results   Overall standings    Previous Stage   Next Stage

Stage 2 - May 19: Dalbutsuden - Nunome Dam circuit race, 146.2km

Australia dominate again

By Miwako Sasaki

Wesley Sulzberger (South Australia.com-AIS)
Photo ©: Miwako Sasaki
(Click for larger image)

South Australia.com-AIS's Wesley Sulzberger took stage 2 of the Tour of Japan, ahead of team-mate Cameron Meyer in Nara. The 21 year old Australian jumped away from the breakaway with Meyer and Kazuo Inoue (Nippo-Endeka) in the final lap before leaving the local rider behind to take both first and second in the stage and the overall. Sulzberger took over the overall lead from team-mate Zakkari Dempster, who won stage one in a sprint.

"Obviously, we wanted to keep working in the break to hold off the peloton, which was chasing pretty hard behind our group," said Sulzberger. "In the last couple of laps Cam [Meyer] and I both knew attacks would come on the finishing climb, so we marked riders, stayed up the front and stayed alert.

"Cam slipped off the front in the final lap; when the Japanese guy counter-attacked I got on his wheel," explained Sulzberger. "I looked back and the rest of our group wasn't chasing, so I told Cam on the radio to keep going."

Holding a two against one advantage over Inoue, Meyer launched the first attack. "Cam went down the left and the Japanese guy (Inoue) had nothing left in the tank to counter so then I went down the right and we were away," said Sulzberger.

Sulzberger and Meyer now sit first and second overall but Sulzberger says they can deal with the pressure. "We might have won the first two stages but it's like any other race now and we have to plan our strategy," he said. "We'll try our hardest and not get too much of a big head."

How it unfolded

93 riders started the second stage from Todaiji, a beautiful old temple in Nara. Polish rider Marek Rutkiewicz (Mroz-Action-Uniqa), one of the victims of yesterday's crash with 300 meters to go, started the day's stage but was forced to withdraw after nine laps. The wounds which he sustained yesterday on his left hip proved to difficult to continue with.

Cloudy sky threw a few drops of rain on the breakaway.
Photo ©: Miwako Sasaki
(Click for larger image)

12 riders attacked the peloton shortly after the stage began, with an additional four riders joining them later on. With 11 teams represented in the 16 rider break the peloton were happy to allow them a lead and after seven laps were covered they had built a lead of 1'40". The break included Japanese champion Yukiya Arashiro (Meitan Hompo-GDR), Mariusz Witecki (Mroz- Action-Uniqa), Rhys Pollock and Jai Crawford (Trek-Marco Polo Cycling Team), Inoue and Davis Miorin (Nippo-Endeka), Alexandre Aulas (A- Style-Somn), Yoshiyuki Abe (Skil-Shimano), Hyo Suk Gong (Seoul Cycling), Sulzberger and Meyer, kazuhiro Mori and Masahiro Shinagawa (Aisan Racing Team), Akira Kakinuma and Masaru Fukuhara (Team Bridgestone Anchor), and Tomoya Sano (Matrix-Powertag).

Pole, Witecki attacked the breakaway with three laps to go, signalling the end of the collaboration between the riders in the break. Arashiro followed him while two more riders tried to get a gap over the rest of the break but were unsuccessful.

In the final lap Sulzberger and Meyer launched the winning attack with Inoue, with Sulzberger triumphing over his team-mate on the final uphill sprint to the line.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Hitoshi Omae/PhotoSport International UK, USA, ASIA

Images by Miwako Sasaki

Results

1 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                    2.54.31
2 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                           0.01
3 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                       0.13
4 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                     0.20
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                             0.22
6 Alexandre Aulas (Fra) A-Style Somn                                   0.24
7 Devis Miorin (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                          
8 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                    
9 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                  
10 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   0.27
11 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                              
12 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                            
13 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                        
14 Rhys Pollock (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   0.53
15 Alberto Di Lorenzo (Ita) A-Style Somn                               1.29
16 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                        
17 Vicenzo Garofalo (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                 1.31
18 Robert Rodosz (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                   
19 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               
20 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               
21 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                 
22 Seok Kyu Suh (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        
23 Sano Junya (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                           
24 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                        
25 Takayuki Naganuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                         
26 Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                 
27 Timo Albiez (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                           
28 Tetsuya Fujioka (Jpn) Team JBCF                                         
29 Kenta Onoguchi (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                      
30 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                             
31 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                             
32 Takashi Nakayama (Jpn) Team JBCF                                        
33 Wojciech Pawlak (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                 
34 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                      
35 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                          
36 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                   
37 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                           
38 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                         
39 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                      
40 Simone Bruson (Ita) A-Style Somn                                        
41 Yosuke Kojima (Jpn) Team JBCF                                           
42 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                   
43 Ki Hong Yoo (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                         
44 Piotr Chmielewski (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                               
45 Makoto Nakamura (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                           
46 Yoshiyuki Shimizu (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                    
47 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                 
48 Kohei Tsusue (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            
49 Rogelio Carvalho (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                     
50 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                     
51 Michael Haiser (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                        
52 Dimitri Jiriakov (Lie) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                      
53 Gu Hyeon Kim (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        
54 Naoki Mukaigawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                   
55 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                 
56 Kaoru Obata (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         
57 Keita Iwashima (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                      
58 Genta Nakamura (Jpn) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                     
59 Keisuke Kamata (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                       
60 Yasuhiro Nito (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                   1.50
61 Maxim Gourov (Kaz) A-Style Somn                                         
62 Masafumi Yamane (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                            1.58
63 Simon Clarke (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                           2.23
64 Marcin Gebka (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                    
65 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   2.48
66 Hideya Akiyama (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                              3.13
67 Masafumi Nishitani (Jpn) Team JBCF                                  4.29
68 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                    5.19
69 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                  
70 Kazunari Asano (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                   9.09
71 Yoshiaki Sudou (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                             9.47
72 Shota Saito (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                                    
73 Sung Baek Park (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                      
74 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                     
75 Aristide Ratti (Ita) A-Style Somn                                   9.52
76 Sylvain Georges (Fra) A-Style Somn                                  9.55
77 Masaru Fukuhara (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                       9.57
78 Tomoyuki Kaneda (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                           10.49
79 Mitsuhiro Matsumura (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                               
80 Won Jae Lee (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                    12.16
81 Akira Kodan (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                     12.40
82 Peter Andres (Swi) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                     13.42
83 Mark Jamieson (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                         33.42
84 Tomoya Sano (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                       
85 Masayuki Kimura (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                     
86 William Ford (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                               
87 Benjamin Stauder (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                      
88 Asa Eazu (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                                       
89 Masaki Hirabayashi (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                             
90 Hiroshi Nara (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            
91 Ikuo Hosoki (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         
92 Marco Weilenmann (Swi) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                      
DNF Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                               
 
Points
 
1 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                         15 pts
2 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                             12
3 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                         10
4 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        8
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                6
6 Alexandre Aulas (Fra) A-Style Somn                                      5
7 Devis Miorin (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                         4
8 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                   3
9 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                 2
10 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                      1
 
Mountains
 
1 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                       2 pts
2 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                            4
3 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                 5
4 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                          6
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               13
 
Teams
 
1 South Australia.com-AIS                                           8.45.05
2 Nippo-Endeka                                                         0.36
3 Aisan Racing Team                                                    0.50
4 Trek-Marco Polo Cycling Team                                         1.19
5 Seoul Cycling                                                        1.50
6 Meitan Hompo-GDR                                                     1.52
7 A-Style Somn                                                             
8 Mroz Action Uniqa                                                    1.54
9 Skil-Shimano                                                         1.55
10 Team Bridgestone Anchor                                             1.57
11 Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                                         3.01
12 Stegcomputer-CKT-Cogeas                                                 
13 Nalsima Frend                                                           
14 Team JBCF                                                               
15 Matrix Powertag                                                    11.17
16 Team Comrade Giant                                                 20.00
 
General classification after stage 2
 
1 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                    6.00.17
2 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                           0.05
3 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                       0.17
4 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                     0.30
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                             0.32
6 Devis Miorin (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                      0.34
7 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                    
8 Alexandre Aulas (Fra) A-Style Somn                                       
9 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                  
10 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   0.37
11 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                        
12 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                            
13 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                              
14 Rhys Pollock (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   1.03
15 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                       1.31
16 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                             1.35
17 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                             1.36
18 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                      
19 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                           1.38
20 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                    1.39
21 Alberto Di Lorenzo (Ita) A-Style Somn                                   
22 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                 
23 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                         1.40
24 Robert Rodosz (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                               1.41
25 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               
26 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                        
27 Wojciech Pawlak (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                 
28 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                             
29 Sano Junya (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                           
30 Timo Albiez (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                           
31 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                   
32 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                   
33 Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                 
34 Kenta Onoguchi (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                      
35 Seok Kyu Suh (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        
36 Takashi Nakayama (Jpn) Team JBCF                                        
37 Ki Hong Yoo (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                         
38 Rogelio Carvalho (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                     
39 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                         
40 Piotr Chmielewski (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                               
41 Keita Iwashima (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                      
42 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                          
43 Takayuki Naganuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                         
44 Yoshiyuki Shimizu (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                    
45 Yosuke Kojima (Jpn) Team JBCF                                           
46 Vicenzo Garofalo (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                     
47 Gu Hyeon Kim (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        
48 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                      
49 Kohei Tsusue (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            
50 Tetsuya Fujioka (Jpn) Team JBCF                                         
51 Dimitri Jiriakov (Lie) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                      
52 Keisuke Kamata (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                       
53 Simone Bruson (Ita) A-Style Somn                                        
54 Michael Haiser (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                        
55 Makoto Nakamura (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                           
56 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                     
57 Naoki Mukaigawa (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                   
58 Kaoru Obata (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         
59 Genta Nakamura (Jpn) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                     
60 Yasuhiro Nito (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                   2.00
61 Maxim Gourov (Kaz) A-Style Somn                                         
62 Masafumi Yamane (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                            2.08
63 Marcin Gebka (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                2.33
64 Simon Clarke (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                               
65 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                   2.58
66 Hideya Akiyama (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                              3.23
67 Masafumi Nishitani (Jpn) Team JBCF                                  4.39
68 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                    5.29
69 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                  
70 Kazunari Asano (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                   9.19
71 Sung Baek Park (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                  9.57
72 Shota Saito (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                                    
73 Daisuke Hioki (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                     
74 Aristide Ratti (Ita) A-Style Somn                                  10.02
75 Sylvain Georges (Fra) A-Style Somn                                 10.05
76 Masaru Fukuhara (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                      10.07
77 Tomoyuki Kaneda (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                           10.59
78 Mitsuhiro Matsumura (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                               
79 Won Jae Lee (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                    12.26
80 Akira Kodan (Jpn) Pearl Izumi Sumita Ravanello                     12.50
81 Peter Andres (Swi) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                     13.52
82 Yoshiaki Sudou (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                            21.24
83 Benjamin Stauder (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                 33.48
84 Masayuki Kimura (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                33.52
85 Marco Weilenmann (Swi) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                      
86 Masaki Hirabayashi (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                             
87 Hiroshi Nara (Jpn) Team JBCF                                            
88 Ikuo Hosoki (Jpn) Nalsima Frend                                         
89 Asa Eazu (Jpn) Team Comrade Giant                                       
90 William Ford (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                               
91 Mark Jamieson (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                              
92 Tomoya Sano (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                  35.19
 
Points
 
1 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                         15 pts
2 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                          15
3 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                         13
4 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Southaustralia.com-AIS                             12
5 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                12
6 Benjamin Stauder (Ger) Stegcomputer - CKT - Cogeas                     10
7 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                 8
8 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                      8
9 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                        8
10 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                              8
11 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               6
12 Sung Baek Park (Kor) Seoul Cycling                                     6
13 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                              5
14 Alexandre Aulas (Fra) A-Style Somn                                     5
15 Robert Rodosz (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                  5
16 Devis Miorin (Ita) Nippo-Endeka                                        4
17 Koji Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                                4
18 Aristide Ratti (Ita) A-Style Somn                                      4
19 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team                                  3
20 Marcin Gebka (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                   3
21 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                2
22 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                            2
23 Masahiko Mifune (Jpn) Matrix Powertag                                  2
24 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                      1
25 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                       1
 
Mountains
 
1 Jai Crawford (Aus) Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team                       2 pts
2 Akira Kakinuma (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor                            4
3 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Mroz Action Uniqa                                 5
4 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Nippo-Endeka                                          6
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Meitan Hompo - GDR                               13
 
Teams
 
1 South Australia.com-AIS                                          18.02.53
2 Nippo-Endeka                                                         0.36
3 Aisan Racing Team                                                    0.50
4 Trek-Marco Polo Cycling Team                                         1.19
5 Seoul Cycling                                                        1.50
6 Meitan Hompo-GDR                                                     1.52
7 A-Style Somn                                                             
8 Mroz Action Uniqa                                                    1.54
9 Skil-Shimano                                                         1.55
10 Team Bridgestone Anchor                                             1.57
11 Pearlizumi Sumita Ravanello                                         3.01
12 Stegcomputer-Ckt-Cogeas                                                 
13 Nalsima Frend                                                           
14 Team JBCF                                                               
15 Matrix Powertag                                                    11.17
16 Team Comrade Giant                                                 20.00