Bauke Mollema wins Japan Cup 2019
Woods and Smith complete podium
Report
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) showed no signs of a post-Il Lombardia hangover with a win in the Japan Cup 2019 on Sunday. The Dutch rider broke away with Michael Woods (EF Education First) on the thirteenth lap of the race before Mollema dispatched with the EF Education first rider in a two-up sprint. Dion Smith (Mitchelton Scott) finished the race in third.
"I’m super happy with the win," Mollema said after ending his 2019 campaign in emphatic style.
"It was a hard race but we had Ciccone in the front group and that was perfect for us. There were about eight guys but he was one of the strongest. It was a hard lap and every lap we had the climb and went fast up it, especially on the last five or six laps."
After Giulio Ciccone's work was done and the early break fell away Jumbo Visma set about controlling the race. Robert Gesink set an electric pace that reduced to peloton to under 20 riders but it was Mollema who, just like in Lombardia, timed his attack to perfection. Only Woods was wise to the move, with the pair establishing a winning lead over the remnants of the peloton
"It was about positioning and fighting and I felt really good all day. I’ve felt good for the last few weeks and months but the legs were really good today. Then with about two laps to go there were still between 15 and 20 guys left so I decided to give it a try. It was quite early and Jumbo Visma were there with four guys, and they were attacking one-by-one. I preferred to try and drop them so I felt full gas up the climb and only Woods could follow."
"From then on we worked really well together until the finishline. First it was about 20 or 30 seconds but by the end it was about one minute. It was clear we were going to fight for the win. Then in the sprint I had good legs and it’s a super nice way to finish the season after Lombardia. This is my last race of the year and it’s always a nice atmosphere in Japan with good fans."
Elsewhere, Taylor Phinney marked the event as his last race before retirement.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek - Segafredo | 3:41:13 |
2 | Michael Woods (Can) Ef Education First | 0:00:01 |
3 | Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton - Scott | 0:00:44 |
4 | Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) Matrix Powertag | |
5 | Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo - Visma | |
6 | Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | 0:00:52 |
7 | Neilson Powless (USA) Team Jumbo - Visma | 0:02:09 |
8 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Team Jumbo - Visma | |
9 | Kenny Molly (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles | 0:02:31 |
10 | Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Matrix Powertag | |
11 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo - Visma | |
12 | Lucas De Rossi (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence | 0:02:35 |
13 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain - Merida | 0:04:33 |
14 | Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
15 | Benjamin Dyball (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling | 0:04:37 |
16 | Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:04:51 |
17 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | |
18 | Niklas Eg (Den) Trek - Segafredo | 0:05:02 |
19 | Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek - Segafredo | |
20 | Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain - Merida | |
21 | Atsushi Oka (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | 0:05:58 |
22 | Rémy Rochas (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence | 0:06:06 |
23 | Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence | 0:06:56 |
24 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain - Merida | |
25 | Itsuki Koide (Jpn) Japan | 0:09:43 |
26 | Daiki Magosaki (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | 0:10:01 |
27 | Maxx Chance (USA) Wildlife Generation pro Cycling p / b Maxxis | |
28 | Yusuke Hatanaka (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
29 | Daiki Yasuhara (Jpn) Matrix Powertag | |
30 | Mathijs Paasschens (Ned) Wallonie Bruxelles | |
31 | Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Matrix Powertag | |
32 | Matic Grošelj (Slo) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
33 | Phuchong Saiudomsin (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team | |
34 | Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | |
35 | Masahiro Ishigami (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | |
36 | Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles | 0:10:07 |
37 | Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | 0:10:13 |
38 | Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | 0:10:29 |
39 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo - Visma | 0:10:50 |
40 | Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | 0:11:03 |
DNF | Masayuki Shibata (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Péter Kusztor (Hun) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Jumbo - Visma | |
DNF | Ryohei Komori (Jpn) Matrix Powertag | |
DNF | Benjami Prades Reverter (Spa) Team Ukyo | |
DNF | Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
DNF | Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | |
DNF | Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton - Scott | |
DNF | Benjamin Hill (Aus) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
DNF | James Fouche (NZl) Team Wiggins Lecol | |
DNF | Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation pro Cycling p / b Maxxis | |
DNF | Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek - Segafredo | |
DNF | Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek - Segafredo | |
DNF | Brenton Jones (Aus) Delko Marseille Provence | |
DNF | Yuan Tang Peng (Tpe) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
DNF | Rei Onodera (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
DNF | Suguru Tokuda (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | |
DNF | Keisuke Kimura (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | |
DNF | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek - Segafredo | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain - Merida | |
DNF | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain - Merida | |
DNF | Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain - Merida | |
DNF | Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team | |
DNF | Ratchanon Yaowarat (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team | |
DNF | Sarawut Sirironnachai (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team | |
DNF | Ayumu Watanabe (Jpn) Japan | |
DNF | Nathan Brown (USA) Ef Education First | |
DNF | Takaaki Hori (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
DNF | Simon Carr (GBr) Delko Marseille Provence | |
DNF | Lachlan Morton (Aus) Ef Education First | |
DNF | Rok Korošec (Slo) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
DNF | Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
DNF | Ryu Suzuki (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
DNF | Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | |
DNF | James Whelan (Aus) Ef Education First | |
DNF | Kohei Yokotsuka (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
DNF | Hijiri Oda (Jpn) Japan | |
DNF | Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation pro Cycling p / b Maxxis | |
DNF | Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Wallonie Bruxelles | |
DNF | Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Wallonie - Bruxelles Development Team | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marino Kobayashi (Jpn) Japan | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom Paquot (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles Development Team | |
DNF | Yuki Ishihara (Jpn) Japan | |
DNF | Kosuke Takeyama (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
DNF | Shiki Kuroeda (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | |
DNF | Wen Chung Huang (Tpe) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
DNF | Hayato Nishio (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Muhsin Al Redha Misbah (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
DNF | Iuri Filosi (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence | |
DNF | Muhammad Shaiful Adlan Mohd Shukri (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
DNF | Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team | |
DNF | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Team Ukyo | |
DNF | Ryo Chikatani (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Cycling | |
DNF | Ryo Minato (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | |
DNF | Airan Fernandez Casasola (Spa) Matrix Powertag | |
DNF | Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Masaki Shimojima (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Taylor Phinney (USA) Ef Education First | |
DNF | Keito Nishio (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Akmal Hakim Zakaria (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
DNF | Peerapol Chawchiangkwang (Tha) Thailand Continental Cycling Team | |
DNF | Tadaaki Nakai (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | |
DNF | Ryan Jastrab (USA) Wildlife Generation pro Cycling p / b Maxxis | |
DNF | Kota Yokoyama (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | |
DNF | Shoi Matsuda (Jpn) Japan | |
DNF | Saya Kuroeda (Jpn) Shimano Racing Team | |
DNF | Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini - Faizane' | |
DNF | Jin Okubo (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team | |
DNF | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton - Scott | |
DNF | Tatsuki Amagoi (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team | |
DNF | Yasuharu Nakajima (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team | |
DNF | Kaito Nakamura (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Masatoshi Shimpo (Jpn) Nasu Blasen | |
DNF | Mohamad Saari Amri Abd Rasim (Mas) Team Sapura Cycling | |
DNF | Batuhan Ozgur (Tur) Team Sapura Cycling | |
DNF | Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Quinten Kirby (USA) Wildlife Generation pro Cycling p / b Maxxis | |
DNF | Timothy Guy (Aus) Ljubljana Gusto Santic | |
DNF | Yuta Arai (Jpn) Kinan Cycling Team | |
DNF | Sean Bennett (USA) Ef Education First |
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