Haas wins the Japan Cup
Boasson Hagen and Bole complete the podium
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.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp | 4:06:48 |
2 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Grega Bole (Slo) Vini Fantini Nippo | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Julian David Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida | 0:00:05 |
10 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:00:18 |
11 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:00:25 |
12 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:38 |
13 | Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | 0:00:48 |
14 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek Factory Racing | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:56 |
17 | Christopher Sutton (Aus) Team Sky | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Team Ukyo | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Salvador Guardiola Tora (Spa) Team Ukyo | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Cannondale | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Phillip Gaimon (USA) Garmin Sharp | 0:01:02 |
29 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Tomohiro Hayakawa (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | 0:02:01 |
32 | Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Team Ukyo | 0:03:11 |
33 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Vini Fantini Nippo | 0:03:55 |
34 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Cannondale | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Hayden Roulston (NZl) Trek Factory Racing | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar | 0:04:25 |
38 | Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Team Ukyo | 0:04:37 |
39 | Yusuke Hatanaka (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | 0:05:05 |
40 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | 0:05:36 |
41 | Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Vini Fantini Nippo | 0:05:46 |
42 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:05:48 |
43 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Sky | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Atsushi Oka (Jpn) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:05:51 |
47 | Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Damien Monier (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Ryoma Nonaka (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Shun Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Ukyo | 0:05:59 |
56 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:06:36 |
57 | Jack Anderson (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Naoya Uchino (Jpn) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Shinri Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Takayuki Abe (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | 0:06:57 |
62 | Takaaki Hori (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | 0:09:45 |
63 | Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | 0:09:48 |
64 | Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Vini Fantini Nippo | 0:10:40 |
65 | Keisuke Kimura (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | 0:11:52 |
DNF | Andrea Vaccher (Ita) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Junya Sano (Jpn) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Vini Fantini Nippo | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek Factory Racing | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jeremy Cornu (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tanzou Tokuda (Jpn) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Suguru Tokuda (Jpn) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Caleb Fairly (USA) Garmin Sharp | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joe Eldridge (USA) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
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