7th Tour of Japan - 2.5

Japan, May 19-26, 2002

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Stage 3 - May 22: Japan Cycle Sports Center Circuit (Shuzenji), 120.0 km

Scheirlinckx into the lead

Final Break
Photo: © Miwako Sasaki

By Miwako Sasaki, Japanese Cycle Sport

Ukrainian Oleksandr Klymenko (Mroz) won the third stage of the 7th Tour of Japan, beating Italian Simone Mori (Team Jura Suisse) in the final two man sprint. Belgian Bert Scheirlinckx (RDM-Flanders) finished sixth and was finally rewarded with the green leader's jersey.

After the transfer to Shuzenji yesterday, 85 riders started the race in fine weather conditions. It was even possible to view Mt.Fuji, Japan's most famous mountain, from the circuit. But the riders couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenery as the circuit was very tough, and it was also quite a warm (25 degrees) and humid day.

Prior to the start, a communique was issued stating that Stefan and Markus Ganser (Team Comnet Senges) were fined 50 CHF for changing their numbers by mistake in the 1st Stage. The brothers' results were also changed.

At the first mountain sprint with 12 laps to go, Japanese Shinri Suzuki (Shimano Racing) took first place, in front of Klymenko and his teammate Kazimierz Stafiej, who wore the red mountain jersey. Then six riders broke away from the peloton and built a 40" second. The members of the break were Klymenko, Mori, Australian Scott Davis, Kazakhstan's Assan Bazayev, Japanese Tomoya Kano (Shimano Racing) and Shinichi Fukushima (Bridgestone Anchor).

At the second mountain sprint with 8 laps to go, Klymenko crossed the line first, followed by Mori and Davis. The peloton including race leader Pawel Niedzwiecki (Mroz), points leader Bert Scheirlinckx (RDM-Flanders) and Stafiej crossed the mountain sprint 1'00 behind.

At the third and final mountain sprint with four laps to go, Klymenko, Mori, and Davis were still in front of the first group, and the peloton followed at 20" behind. At two laps to go, Klymenko attacked from the first group, and only Mori followed him. The 2 riders had 2'00 to the peloton, which caught the other four riders, but Niedzwiecki was no longer there. The green jersey was struggling 2'00 behind.

Mori, 30 years old, is one of the more experienced riders in the peloton of the Tour of Japan, riding for Kross in 1997 and 1998, and for Amica Chips in 1999. He also won Tour of Croatia last year. But he couldn't win against Klymenko who is a 26 year old neo-pro.

Scheirlinckx finished in 6th place, 13" behind and finally got (really) the green leader's jersey today. "The course was very beautiful, but also very hard," said Scheirlinckx.

Hong Kong's Kam Po Wong finished third and took second place in the general classification.

Photography

Photos courtesy Miwako Sasaki

Gene Bates Australian National Team) signs in for stage 3.
Pawel Niedzwiecki (Mroz) enters stage 3 in the leaders jersey.
The Australian National Team gear up before the start.
The riders assemble at the start.
The peloton begin to build up pace
Oleksandr Klymenko (Mroz) leads the early breakaway.
Local fans gather at the road side.
Scott Davis (Australian National Team) tries to bridge the gap.
The deciding break forms with Simone Mori (Team Jura Suisse) and Oleksandr Klymenko (Mroz).
Kam Po Wong, Bert Scheirlinckx and Tjarco Cuppens on the podium.

Results

1 Oleksandr Klymenko (Ukr) Mroz                           3.29.56
2 Simone Mori (Ita) Team Jura Suisse                         0.03
3 Kam Po Wong (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team                  0.10
4 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
5 Florian Ludi (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                        0.11
6 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) RDM-Flanders                       0.13
7 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team            0.31
8 Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Team Orbea Etxeondo                0.56
9 Hans-Jurgen Juretzek (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges              1.01
10 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing
11 Mateusz Mroz (Pol) Mroz                                   1.13
12 Kazimierz Stafiej (Pol) Mroz
13 Hisafumi Imanishi (Jpn) Shimano Racing
14 Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                    1.14
15 Scott Davis (Aus) Australian National Team
16 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor          1.15
17 Tetsuya Okada (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor
18 Koki Shimbo (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                       1.18
19 David Mcpartland (Aus) Australian National Team           1.20
20 Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Team Orbea Etxeondo                   1.21
21 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing                          1.23
22 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team              2.39
23 Markus Ganser (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                    3.22
24 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                  3.36
25 Gene Bates (Aus) Australian National Team                 3.37
26 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor           3.59
27 David Chassot (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                      4.00
28 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
29 Bakhtiyr Mamyrov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team           4.01
30 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi            6.14
31 Adrian Laidler (Aus) Australian National Team             6.23
32 Edward Dunning (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team    6.54
33 Alexandr Dymovskikh (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
34 Zbigniew Wyrzykowski (Pol) Mroz                           9.14
35 Michel Klinger (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                     9.45
36 Hideto Yukinari (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team          10.04
37 Kentaro Eshita (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                   10.24
38 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz                             10.38
39 David Plas (Bel) RDM-Flanders                            13.27
40 Teruo Iida (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo
41 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team
42 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo
43 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo
44 Koichi Asano (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team
45 Jurgen Landrie (Bel) RDM-Flanders                        15.55
46 Yusuke Takahashi (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo               16.35
47 Stefan Ganser (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges
48 Nor.Effendy Rosli (Mas) Malaysia National Team           19.17
49 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing                  19.43
50 Viktor Shestakov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team          20.43
51 Suhardi Hassan (Mas) Malaysia National Team
52 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo
53 Marco Engels (Bel) RDM-Flanders
54 Stijn Vanstraelen (Bel) RDM-Flanders
55 Axel Hauschke (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges
56 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo
57 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi
58 Yasuki Uchiyama (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team
59 Shinji Suzuki (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing
60 Guiseppe Ribolzi (Swi) Team Jura Suisse
61 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team
62 Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn) Shimano Racing
63 Pawel Zugaj (Pol) Mroz
64 Ah.Thiam Wong (Mas) Malaysia National Team
65 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor
66 Ken Akita (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing
67 Nico Indekeu (Bel) RDM-Flanders
68 Danny Stam (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team
69 Jun Otsuka (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team
70 Tomokazu Fujino (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor
71 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo
72 Taiji Tanaka (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi
73 Jan Hordijk (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team
74 Peep Mikli (Est) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team
75 Tjarco Cuppens (Ned) Team Comnet-Senges
76 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor           21.43
77 Marcel Luppes (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team
78 Kazutaka Fukao (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi
79 Pierre Ackermann (Swi) Team Jura Suisse
80 Ngai Ching Wong (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team
81 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing
82 Hiroshi Sakaguchi (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing
83 David Pell (Aus) Australian National Team
84 King Nin Lau (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team
TC Siu Lun Ho (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team
 
General classification after stage 3
 
1 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) RDM-Flanders                   10.16.58
2 Kam Po Wong (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team                  0.51
3 Simone Mori (Ita) Team Jura Suisse                         0.54
4 Florian Ludi (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                        0.57
5 Oleksandr Klymenko (Ukr) Mroz                              1.00
6 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team             1.01
7 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing                         1.43
8 Kazuyuki Manabe (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team            1.55
9 Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                     1.57
10 Shinichi Fukushima (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor          2.00
11 Hans-Jurgen Juretzek (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges
12 Kazimierz Stafiej (Pol) Mroz                              2.06
13 Mateusz Mroz (Pol) Mroz                                   2.09
14 Scott Davis (Aus) Australian National Team                2.10
15 Tetsuya Okada (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor               2.11
16 Hisafumi Imanishi (Jpn) Shimano Racing                    2.13
17 Kairat Baigudinov (Kaz) Team Orbea Etxeondo
18 Tomoya Kano (Jpn) Shimano Racing                          2.20
19 Koki Shimbo (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                       2.25
20 Pavel Nevdakh (Kaz) Team Orbea Etxeondo                   2.30
21 David Mcpartland (Aus) Australian National Team           2.37
22 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team              3.40
23 Markus Ganser (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                    4.11
24 Mitsuteru Tanaka (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                  4.37
25 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor           4.44
26 David Chassot (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                      4.56
27 Bakhtiyr Mamyrov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team           5.11
28 Andrey Medyannikov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team         5.20
29 Gene Bates (Aus) Australian National Team                 5.50
30 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi            7.03
31 Adrian Laidler (Aus) Australian National Team             7.39
32 Alexandr Dymovskikh (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team        8.15
33 Edward Dunning (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team
34 Zbigniew Wyrzykowski (Pol) Mroz                          10.23
35 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz                             10.25
36 Michel Klinger (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                    10.36
37 Hideto Yukinari (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team          11.14
38 Satoshi Hirose (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo                       14.20
39 David Plas (Bel) RDM-Flanders                            14.23
40 Takumi Beppu (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo                         14.33
41 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team       14.46
42 Jurgen Landrie (Bel) RDM-Flanders                        16.50
43 Stefan Ganser (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                   17.29
44 Yusuke Takahashi (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo               17.54
45 Nor.Effendy Rosli (Mas) Malaysia National Team           20.33
46 Kazuya Okazaki (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo                       21.28
47 Stijn Vanstraelen (Bel) RDM-Flanders                     21.32
48 Axel Hauschke (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                   21.34
49 Junichi Shibuya (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor            21.41
50 Takeaki Ayabe (Jpn) RT Nipponhodo                        21.52
51 Peep Mikli (Est) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team       21.58
52 Pawel Zugaj (Pol) Mroz                                   22.00
53 Ashley Humbert (Aus) Australian National Team
54 Guiseppe Ribolzi (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                  22.04
55 Ikki Yoneyama (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi
56 Nico Indekeu (Bel) RDM-Flanders                          22.07
57 Tomokazu Fujino (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor            22.08
58 Jan Hordijk (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team      22.22
59 Viktor Shestakov (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team          22.26
60 Taiji Tanaka (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi            22.28
61 Marco Engels (Bel) RDM-Flanders                          22.29
62 Tjarco Cuppens (Ned) Team Comnet-Senges
63 Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn) Shimano Racing                         22.44
64 Shinji Suzuki (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                    22.52
65 David Pell (Aus) Australian National Team                23.05
66 Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn) Shimano Racing                       23.07
67 Yasuki Uchiyama (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team          23.11
68 Marcel Luppes (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team    23.29
69 King Nin Lau (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team               23.29
70 Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor
71 Pierre Ackermann (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                  24.35
72 Kentaro Eshita (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                   28.56
73 Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) Shimano Racing                  28.57
74 Jun Otsuka (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team               30.14
75 Teruo Iida (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo                     30.41
76 Ken Akita (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                        30.56
77 Ngai Ching Wong (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team            34.11
78 Suhardi Hassan (Mas) Malaysia National Team              35.10
79 Koichi Asano (Jpn) Miyata-Subaru Racing Team             36.05
80 Makoto Takeuchi (Jpn) Team Orbea Etxeondo                36.30
81 Ah.Thiam Wong (Mas) Malaysia National Team               39.15
82 Kazutaka Fukao (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi
83 Hiroshi Sakaguchi (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                40.15
84 Danny Stam (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team       42.29
 
Points classification
 
1 Kam Po Wong (Hkg) Hong Kong National Team                     6 pts
2 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) RDM-Flanders                          5
3 Oleksandr Klymenko (Ukr) Mroz                                 5
4 Jan Hordijk (Ned) AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team           5
5 Simone Mori (Ita) Team Jura Suisse                            4
6 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz                                  4
7 Stijn Vanstraelen (Bel) RDM-Flanders                          4
8 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing                            4
9 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi                3
10 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team               2
11 Florian Ludi (Swi) Team Jura Suisse                          1
12 Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                       1
13 Stefan Ganser (Ger) Team Comnet-Senges                       1
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Oleksandr Klymenko (Ukr) Mroz                                12 pts
2 Kazimierz Stafiej (Pol) Mroz                                 12
3 Pawel Niedzwiecki (Pol) Mroz                                  6
4 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) RDM-Flanders                          5
5 Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Shimano Racing                            5
6 Simone Mori (Ita) Team Jura Suisse                            4
7 Scott Davis (Aus) Australian National Team                    2
8 Koki Shimbo (Jpn) Asian Ind. Racing                           1
9 Gene Bates (Aus) Australian National Team                     1
 
Sprints classification
 
1 Tjarco Cuppens (Ned) Team Comnet-Senges                       7 pts
2 Makoto Iijima (Jpn) Sumita-Ravanello-Pealizumi                5
3 Takehiro Mizutani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor               5
4 Mateusz Mroz (Pol) Mroz                                       2
5 Zbigniew Wyrzykowski (Pol) Mroz                               2
6 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team                2
7 Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn) Shimano Racing                              1
 
Teams classification
 
1 Mroz                                                   30.54.56
2 Shimano Racing                                             2.14
3 Team Jura Suisse                                           2.40
4 Team Comnet-Senges                                         3.58
5 Team Bridgestone-Anchor                                    4.53
6 Australia                                                  5.38
7 Kazakhstan                                                 5.49
8 Team Orbea Etxe-Ondo                                      15.27
9 Aisan-Ind.Racing                                          15.33
10 Miyata-Subaru Racing Team                                23.53
11 Rdm Flanders                                             27.04
12 Hong Kong                                                42.58
13 Rt.Nippon Hodo                                           46.19
14 Sumita Ravanello Pearlizumi                              47.33
15 Axa-Vvz                                                  48.30