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Tour of Japan 2010 stage 1 · 16/05/10
Day 1 of the 2010 Tour of Japan is now complete and it’s been a solid start for the Rapha Condor Sharp team. Dean Windsor infiltrated a four man breakaway in the pre stage criterium with 5 laps to go, before narrowly missing out on the win in a scrappy sprint finish to take second place. In the afternoon’s time trial, the opening stage of the Tour of Japan, the team placed two riders in the top 10, putting the team in a strong position ahead of tomorrow’s first road stage.
Criterium:
The curtain raiser to the Tour of Japan was a 15 lap criterium around a 2km circuit that traced the perimeter of the picturesque Daisen park, the same circuit would later form the course for the stage 1 time trial. With little thought for saving their legs for the afternoon, the bunch rattled off the opening laps at a furious pace with the black jerseys of the Rapha Condor Sharp always safely near the front of the group.
About five laps into the race, a group of nine riders detached themselves from the front of the bunch and quickly established a lead of nearly 30 seconds. For a time that group, containing Kristian House and Dean Windsor, looked to be the race winning move. However as quickly as it had got away, the group was reeled in by the bunch, something Dean Windsor reflected on after the finish:
“I was pretty pumped up I guess you could say, I was looking for a good start to the tour and I guess you’d say the circuit didn’t suit me but the kind of racing does. I made sure I was going in most attacks and it looked like we had pretty much the winning break with both me and Kristian. I thought this is it and we started to think about how we could win this thing and as soon as we did that I think everyone else did so the break slowed and the bunch came from behind. As soon as the bunch caught us I went again and this time it was a smaller group, we all committed and there was only five laps to go so I was happy to be there.”
Forcing his way into the lead for the second time in the race, Dean could have been forgiven for thinking he deserved a little luck as they approached the final sprint. Things didn’t go to plan as one of his co-escapees proved to be the difference between victory and defeat as Dean explained:
“I was just making sure I kept my eye on the other three riders, I was pretty confident in the sprint, I had good legs all day and well, I took a gamble, I made sure I wasn’t hitting the front too early, you can show too early in a sprint like that. I felt like I was timing it well, the Italian went way too early and then the Shimano guy took off after him and I was sitting perfect then the Italian made the decision to swing back in behind the Shimano guy and I was sitting pretty, we came together and the Shimano guy had a gap. I did my best, got along side him as we crossed the line but it was too late.”
Unwilling to dwell on what might have been, Dean seemed really happy with the result, a confidence boost as he looks forward to the final stage circuit race in Tokyo and the Tour Series beyond:
“I’ll be supporting the other riders this week, then hopefully in Tokyo they can return the favour, we’ll see how it goes, I’m looking forward to the circuit race, not just Tokyo but the Tour Series too, I’ve got good legs and I can’t wait for it!”
So with confidence riding high, the team began to prepare for the afternoon’s Time Trial stage, but not before popping down to the Gelato Pasta Cafe where the local team fans had arranged a little reception. The team duly obliged by signing autographs and chatting with the fans before retreating to the team pits to prepare for the race.
Time Trial
Off first for the team in the TT was Kristian, his ride good enough to see him sit in third place for some time. However it was first Zak and then Darren who impressed on the day as each posted times in the top 10 with Zak 6th and Darren 4th to give the team plenty of options after the finish.
As they warmed down post stage I spoke to both top 10 finishers about their rides, first of all asking Zak about his feelings on his ride:
“It’s ok, Time trialling is usually a strong point, but I’ve lost a bit in the last couple of years, not really had a result in a little while. I’ve focused on being a more complete rider, so it’s positive in that sense that I’m still there. I’ll take more from this looking to tomorrow and the next day, hopefully they’re days that are good for me.”
Darren meanwhile was clearly happy with both his ride on the day and it’s implications for the next few days:
“I’m actually really pleased, there’s not much of a time difference between the top ten, so I wanted to get top ten today and I’m very happy with 4th. Everyone in the top ten is pretty much in the same area, I feel like I’m climbing really well, looking forward to some hilly stages to push myself up on GC. I think the next 3 days and then Fuji are all really tough days, the next three days are incredibly important for GC, so I just have to stay aware of the GC guys around me and try and gain some time. I think if there’s an opportunity I’ll try and gain time, but ultimately I’d like to hold my position until Fuji.”
So as we packed up to head to the bus for our transfer to Nara, I asked Zak, our Tour of Japan veteran to give me his prediction for tomorrow’s stage:
“Tomorrow I believe a large break will go, it’s a race of attrition so I think maybe 20 guys will get away and AIS won’t ride, they’re just here for stages so you’ve got to think about that, then there’s the Italians, maybe they’ve got someone good, Nippo have got a good climber who made up 2 minutes last year to make the podium. All kinds of different stuff going on, anything could happen in the next five days really, especially without radios, The race will take care of itself in that sense.”
Join us tomorrow to find out whether Zak was right and where Rapha Condor Sharp finished in the mix.
photos by Takaaki Takagi
