Pro riders from Mitchelton–Scott, Team Novo Nordisk, Utsunomiya Blitzen together with other Japanese continental teams, will compete on ROUVY this weekend. The pro riders will take on a 30km virtual race on a ‘1:1 replica of the UCI annual Japan Cup road race’.
Special guests, former pro riders, and elite climbers Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso (2012 Japan Cup winner) are also scheduled to take part.
The 2020 edition of the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race will have TWO virtual competitions: a ‘pros only’ event and fan open race.
Digital Japan Cup Pro Race
The ‘pro-only’ race will start at 11:00 CEST (18:00 local Tokyo time) on October 17th. The line-up features:
- Samuel Bewley and Barnabás Peak from Mitchelton-Scott;
- Declan Irvine, Stephen Clancy and Hamish Beadle from Team Novo Nordisk;
- Hikaru Kosaka from Utsunomiya Blitzen;
- Alberto Contador from Spain and Ivan Basso from Italy are joining the peloton as special guests.
Digital Japan Cup Open Race
The fan open race starts at 09:00 CET (16:00 local Tokyo time). All athletes and cyclists around the globe are invited to ride the open version of the race to compare their efforts to the pros (with the pro race under way 2 hours later).
Drafting is set by default for both races in the men’s and women’s general classification. The race is held at via a 30km virtual circuit around the Utsunomiya Forest Park where the 1990 UCI Road World Championships took place.
A live stream of the races will be broadcasted with Japanese commentary on the official channel of the race and the J SPORTS Channel.
The Japan Cup Cycle Road Race was established in 1992 as a memorial race for the 1990 World Cycling Championships held in Utsunomiya City.
Since 2008, the Japan Cup has been certified as ‘Hors class’ by UCI. With the criterium race set in central Utsunomiya city beginning in 2010, the Japan Cup has become one of the most important bike races in Asia.
‘As one of the largest races in Asia, the quality of participants and the race itself has improved over the years, and the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) has recognized it as a leader in the development of cycling in Asia.’
www.japancup.gr.jp
www.rouvy.com
