Rogers wins Japan Cup alone in the rain

Image 1 of 12

Michael Rogers (Saxo-Tinkoff) defied the rain to take a solo victory at the Japan Cup, ending his 2013 season with his first win of the year.

The veteran Australian was part of the decisive group that formed on the final lap of the hilly circuit race in Utsunomiya. He then got away with young British rider Josh Edmondson (Team Sky) before attacking again and riding solo to the finish. Using his time trial skills, Rogers continued to gain time all the way to the line.

Edmondson was eventually caught and finished tenth. New Zealand’s Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) was second at 44 seconds, beating Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) and Julian Arredondo (Nippo-De Rosa). The big-name riders finished in the peloton. Ivan Basso (Cannondale) was 14th at 2:59 and Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) was 23rd at 4:04.

“On the penultimate climb, Rory (Sutherland) and Evgeny (Petrov) did an amazing job narrowing down the front group to just seven or eight riders and soon I was alone with Edmundson,” Rogers explained.

“In the finale, I managed to so solo and was actually able to enjoy the final kilometers as the margin kept growing. A great way to win all thanks for the perfect set-up by teammates and a magnificent way to finish the season.”

On Saturday Steele Von Hoff won the Japan Cup Criterium, beating Bernhard Eisel (Team Sky) and Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in the sprint.

Full Results