Gerolsteiner prepares for first Japan Cup

By Miwako Sasaki

Gerolsteiner will travel to Japan for the 16th Japan Cup (a UCI Asia Tour 1.1 event) on October 28. It will be among 15 teams from 11 countries. The race will run through the forest park circuit in Utsunomiya, a memorial circuit of the Worlds in 1990. Saunier Duval-Prodir and Lampre-Fondital are two other ProTour teams joining the fray.

It's a first time Gerolsteiner will start the Japan Cup, and German Champion Fabien Wegmann is one of favorites for the hilly race. Heinrich Haussler, Bernhard Kohl, Ronny Scholz and Peter Wrolich will be there, too.

Italian Riccardo Riccò, who won last year, will lead the Saunier Duval Team along with team-mates Manuele Mori, Raivis Belohvosciks, Rubens Bertogliati and Javier Mejías. Lampre-Fondital has made several Japan Cup appearances in the past, collecting five wins along the way. Marco Marzano, Massimiliano Mori, Paolo Fornaciari, Francesco Gavazzi and stagiaire Maurizio Girardini are expected to be there for the Italian team.

Two Professional Continental teams (Dutch Skil-Shimano and the Australian Drapac Porsche Development program), two Continental teams (Islamic Azad University Cycling team and Hong Kong Pro Cycling), and three national teams(China, Thailand, Chinese Taipei) have also been invited.