Haas wins the Japan Cup

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Australia's Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) ended the 2014 season on a high by beating Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) and Gregor Bole (Vini Fantini-Nippo) in a close sprint to win the Japan Cup.

A photo finish was needed to confirm Haas as the winner but he was awarded victory with Boasson Hagen forced to accept second place in his last race for Team Sky before his move to MTN-Qhubeka in 2015.

The 151km race covered ten circuits of Utsonomiya Forest Park before a final lap of 14.1km. Four Japanese riders formed the break of the day with Team Sky and Garmin-Sharp doing the chasing to keep them in check. The quartet stayed away until the very last lap and then 10 riders went clear on the final Kogashi climb after an aggressive final 25km of racing between the strongest riders in the peloton.

Tinkoff-Saxo had Rory Sutherland, Michael Valgren, Manuele Boaro and Chris Juul in the move and used their strength in numbers to attack the group. Boaro made several attempts to go clear but was pulled back as the other riders all fought for a chance of victory.

The uphill finish in Utsonomiya always produces a tough sprint and Haas managed to get the better of Boasson Hagen. It was his second win at the Japan Cup after winning in 2011.

Michael Valgren (Tinkoff-Saxo) was fourth, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) fifth and talented young Italian Valerio Conti (Lampre-Merida) was sixth ahead of compatriot Davide Formolo (Cannondale). Recent Il Lombardia winner Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) finished 12th at 38 seconds.

The riders celebrated ending the 2014 season at the official after-race party in Onion Square, with Fabian Cancellara flying in as a special guest.

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