Preview Japan Cup 2024 | Who grabs nice win on challenging lap at the last minute?
Cycling
The season is drawing to a close, and traditionally, the Japan Cup is one of the very last races of the year. With a challenging lap, it is mainly the hill specialists who will get their money's worth. IDLProCycling takes a closer look!
The Japan Cup has been on the calendar since 1992 and is annually among the last races of the season. The list of winners makes it more than clear that you must be able to climb pretty well if you don't want to make a mistake in the race. Among others, former top Italian climbers Gilberto Simoni and Damiano Cunego are on the list of winners, as is their controversial compatriot Ricardo Ricco. In 2015 and 2019, the Dutch succeeded with Bauke Mollema.
After Mollema's wins, the Japan Cup was removed from the calendar for two years due to the coronavirus outbreak. The race returned to the calendar two years ago, and there was finally a successor to Mollema, American Neilson Powless. Last year, the victory went to the experienced and cunning Portuguese Rui Costa. He convincingly dealt with Felix Engelhardt and Guillaume Martin in the final kilometer.
Practical information Japan Cup 2024
- Utsunomiya - Utsunomiya (144.2 km)
- Sunday, October 20, 2024
- Participants
- Classification: 1.Pro
In this article
- Latest winners
- Course, weather and times
- Favorites
- TV information
Latest winners Japan Cup
2023 Rui Costa
2022 Neilson Powless
2021 Course not run
2020 Course not run
2019 Bauke Mollema
2018 Robert Power
2017 Marco Canola
2016 Davide Villella
2015 Bauke Mollema
2014 Nathan Haas
Course, weather and times Japan Cup 2024
The race will be held in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, about 100 kilometers north of Tokyo. It starts at the foot of the Kogashiyama climb (1.4 km at 6.8) and consists of a 10.3-kilometer city route. The riders will complete this lap 14 times. So, the riders must tackle the Kogashiyama fourteen times, which will undoubtedly sneak up on the riders' legs.
The approach to the slope (about four kilometers) runs false flat uphill, around two to three percent. The average of 6.8 percent gives a misleading picture. The last kilometer is much more challenging, with an average of over eight percent. In the last five hundred meters, the road ascends at more than nine percent, an ideal point to sort out the peloton or place a decisive attack. After the last passage of the climb, there is a few kilometers of descent, after which it is still just under ten kilometers after the finish. The final kilometers have some uphill and downhill sections, providing opportunities for a late breakaway.
Weather
Sunday will provide beautiful conditions for a race. The temperature will rise to 19 degrees, and the sun will shine brightly in the afternoon. Furthermore, it will remain dry, and the wind will be at wind force three from the northeast.
Times
Start time: 09:00 pm (Saturday, October 19, 2024)
Finish time: 1:10 am (Sunday, October 20, 2024)
Favorites Japan Cup 2024
Note: The start list is not final yet; the story below is subject to change.
Former winner Neilson Powless heads to Japan with confidence. After a difficult first part of the season, the EF Education-EasyPost rider has been in tip-top shape in recent weeks. He recently won the Gran Piemonte after a fine solo. Shortly after, he reached a respectable eighth place on the Tour of Lombardy. His Irish teammate Archie Ryan has also been doing exceptionally well lately. With fast hill rider Lukas Nerurkar, Jonathan Vaughters' team has a third asset. Moreover, the young Briton is already well-acclimated. For example, he recently finished second in the Tour de Kyushu. Something can also be expected from Giro's revelation of Georg Steinhauser.
Lidl-Trek is taking the Japanese race seriously and is sending Mads Pedersen, among others. The mighty Dane should be able to handle the challenging course, and he is by far the fastest in the field. However, the supermarket team can also utilize Latvian Toms Skujins, who impressed with fourth place at the World Championships. Puncher Andrea Bagioli is also in the race on behalf of Lidl-Trek. On behalf of Israel-Premier Tech, 'oldies' Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang should cut. Especially from the first, we expect a crushing attack uphill.
Read more below the photo.
Soudal-Quick Step has two Belgian favorites: Mauri Vansevenant and Ilan Van Wilder. The first has an advantage in one-day racing, but Van Wilder has the necessary explosiveness to accomplish something. Another excellent pair is Jayco AlUla, which consists of Simon Yates and Mauro Schmid. The first must go on the offensive, while the second can wait longer and strike in the sprint.
Future Visma | Lease a Bike rider Axel Zingle (Cofidis) will rub his hands together when seeing the route. If he is still there at the end - which is all but possible - the opposition should be frightened by his final shot. Matej Mohoric is a big name at Bahrain Victorious. That the Slovenian master attacker faces the long journey to Japan makes us think he is up for it; after all, he only won twice this year. His Italian teammate Edoardo Zambanini is a dangerous outsider as he is in good shape and has a nice uphill sprint.
Favorites Japan Cup 2024, according to IDLProCycling.com
Top favorites: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Mads Pedersen and Toms Skujins (both Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders: Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-Quick Step), Axel Zingle (Cofidis), Simon Yates Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Archie Ryan, Georg Steinhauser (both EF Education-EasyPost) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)
Longshots: Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step), Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Lukas Nerurkar (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech)
TV Japan Cup 2024
Unfortunately, the Japan Cup is unavailable live on television or on a stream. However, you will find a match report on our site on Sunday morning.
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024