2016 Japan Cup (HC) Results
2016 Japan Cup (HC) Results
25th edition: Sunday, October 23, 2016
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Sunday, October 23: Utsunomiya - Utsunomiya, Japan, 144.2 km
Davide Villella handily wins the 2016 Japan Cup
The Race: Here's the story from winner Davide Villella's Cannondale-Drapac team.
A plan perfectly executed by Cannondale-Drapac delivered Davide Villella to his first professional victory at the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race in Utsunomiya on Sunday. Villella attacked on the steepest climb on the final lap of the 14-lap circuit race to solo across the line.
“I have missed a victory all season, so I’m really happy to get the win here today,” said Villella. “The teamwork – all of the teammates and all of the staff – was amazing. I want to say a very big thank you for the team that believed in me and helped me all the day,” Villella added. “We had a great group here, and I could not do it alone.”
Cannondale-Drapac lined up for the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race with a single objective and a clear pathway to achieve it. Sport director Eric van Lancker had tasked his team of five with putting one man in the early breakaway and keeping the rest of the team around Villella until the Italian would launch what was hoped to be the race-winning move. “We started with one leader in Villella because we knew he has really good shape,” said Van Lancker. “He’s trained well since Lombardia, where he came in fifth place. We wanted to bring him in good condition into the final.”
Matti Breschel flew the green argyle flag in the early breakaway, freeing up his teammates to focus exclusively on their team leader. The breakaway was caught with two laps (20km) still to race. The tough circuit had done damage, and only 25 riders remained in the peloton.
“The idea was that Villella would attack on the steep hill just past the finish line at the start of the last lap,” explained Van Lancker. “We wanted him to go full gas from the bottom. He couldn’t wait until the top. Attacking from the bottom would give him a bigger gap.”
“When I attacked, I thought: ‘This is how I can win this race’.” said Villella. “I felt sure if I attacked that I could win. I’m in really good shape at the end of my season.”
Villella’s confidence proved warranted. He summited the top of the climb with a 10-second advantage over six chasers, and he held his gap all the way to the line. The 25-year-old said the Japanese fans gave him extra motivation on his solo lap.
“I love the Japanese fans,” Villella said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. They were crowded on the circuit, and they were so excited. It was really an amazing thing.”
Van Lancker expressed pride in his five-rider squad that closed out the season with the win. “Everything was planned, and everything we planned came out the way we planned it,” Van Lancker said. “It’s not often that it happens like this.”
“I have to say thank you to the entire team,” he added. “Not everyone is staying in the team for next year, and it’s not always evident that you can make a good team from a group where some are staying and some are leaving. Full credit to all five for doing an incredible job today and all the other days. I saw great teamwork, great cooperation and great morale bring us the win.”
Complete Results:
144.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.2 km/hr
| 1 | VILLELLA Davide | Cannondale-Drapac | 3hr 46min 4sec |
| 2 | JUUL JENSEN Christopher | Orica-BikeExchange | @ 6sec |
| 3 | POWER Robert | Orica-BikeExchange | +0'14" |
| 4 | MORI Manuele | Lampre-Merida | s.t. |
| 5 | PUJOL MUNOZ Oscar | Team Ukyo | s.t. |
| 6 | PETERS Alex | Sky | s.t. |
| 7 | PRADES Benjami | Team Ukyo | +0'17" |
| 8 | MEGIAS LEAL Javier | Novo-Nordisk | +0'43" |
| 9 | ARASHIRO Yukiya | Lampre-Merida | s.t. |
| 10 | ROSSKOPF Joseph | BMC | s.t. |
| 11 | BAYLY Cameron | Attaque Team Gusto | +0'45" |
| 12 | LEBAS Thomas | Bridgestone-Anchor | +0'48" |
| 13 | PHINNEY Taylor | BMC | +1'19" |
| 14 | HAYMAN Mathew | Orica-BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 15 | DE NEGRI Pier Paolo | Nippo-Vini Fantini | s.t. |
| 16 | HATSUYAMA Sho | Bridgestone-Anchor | s.t. |
| 17 | CRAWFORD Jai | Kinan Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 18 | MASUDA Nariyuki | Utsunomiya-Blitzen | s.t. |
| 19 | STUYVEN Jasper | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 20 | FILOSI Iuri | Nippo-Vini Fantini | s.t. |
| 21 | ARAQUE LORENTE Rodrigo | Team Ukyo | s.t. |
| 22 | QUINZIATO Manuel | BMC | s.t. |
| 23 | SKJERPING Kristoffer | Cannondale-Drapac | s.t. |
| 24 | PETILLI Simone | Lampre-Merida | s.t. |
| 25 | NISHIZONO Ryota | Bridgestone-Anchor | +1'32" |
| 26 | CATTANEO Mattia | Lampre-Merida | +2'35" |
| 27 | AMEZAWA Takeaki | Utsunomiya-Blitzen | +2'43" |
| 28 | HATANAKA Yusuke | Team Ukyo | +3'43" |
| 29 | NAKANE Hideto | Japan | +3'43" |
| 30 | SUZUKI Yuzuru | Utsunomiya-Blitzen | +3'47" |
| 31 | ISHIGAMI Masahiro | Japan | +3'54" |
| 32 | DE MESMAEKER Kevin | Novo-Nordisk | +4'25" |
| 33 | BEPPU Fumiyuki | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 34 | TORIBIO Jose Vicente | Matrix-Powertag | s.t. |
| 35 | SCHULTZ Nicholas | Orica-BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 36 | RAST Grégory | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 37 | CUNEGO Damiano | Nippo-Vini Fantini | s.t. |
| 38 | GARCIA Ricardo | Kinan Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 39 | GARCIA Marcos | Kinan Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 40 | ZANDIO ECHAIDE Xabier | Sky | s.t. |
| 41 | PLANET Charles | Novo-Nordisk | +7'25" |
| 42 | ONODERA Rei | Utsunomiya-Blitzen | +7'47" |
| 43 | UCHIMA Kohei | Bridgestone-Anchor | s.t. |
| 44 | YOSHIDA Hayato | Matrix-Powertag | s.t. |
| 45 | YOSHIOKA Naoya | Nasu Blasen | s.t. |
| 46 | DOI Yukihiro | Matrix-Powertag | s.t. |
| 47 | INOUE Kazuo | Bridgestone-Anchor | +10'00" |
| 48 | OKAMOTO Hayato | Japan | s.t. |
| 49 | ITO Masakazu | Japan | s.t. |
| 50 | LU Shao Hsuan | Attaque Team Gusto | s.t. |
| 51 | SUMIYOSHI Kota | Team Ukyo | s.t. |
| 52 | HORI Takaaki | Utsunomiya-Blitzen | +10'51" |
| 53 | KIMURA Keisuke | Japan | +12'03" |
2016 Japan Cup map