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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
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| Morgan Fox |
Hi All,
KONICHIWA:
At this very moment I am sitting at home in Belgium with a little time on my hands for the first time this hectic month. Since the last report I have completed the Tour of Japan and GP Bochum in Germany. I was expecting good form in Japan and was appointed team leader for the event with a stage win and a high finish expected, the race turned out to be a lot harder than we expected mainly due to the Humidity running at 85%. I rode well for the week unlucky at times and the standard high with the Italian teams expected to do all the damage. This is my second time in Japan, I rode the Tour of Hokkaido in 1997 and really enjoyed the experience so I was looking forward to returning. Japan however is a lot different in May than it is in September when Hokkaido is held, reminding me a lot of the Malaysia's Tour of Langkawi in terms of the weather.
Tour of Japan, May 21-28
Stage 1 - Osaka circuit. Fairly flat circuit with only one hill worth talking about. Spent half the day in breaks and it ended up in a bunch gallop. With the likes of Nicola Minali here I guess a gallop was inevitable. Spent the whole last lap glued to his back wheel and I had some job to stay there especially because of one guy from Gerolsteiner who was not aware of my "this is my wheel and no-one else's" attitude in the final kilometers, let's just say he is aware now. Hit the last corner in 6th wheel and with 350 meters to the line it was perfect then bang two Japanese riders dong their usual Kamikaze last minute effort to get around the bend on the inside when we are already at full flight crashed and the ensuing mayhem caused Minali and I to take evasive action and cut through the carnage losing valuable meters in the process. I finished 14th and really annoyed. winner Jacek Mickiewicz (Mroz)
Stage 2 - Nara circuit. Nara the ancient capital of Japan and a beautiful area to visit. We race today on a circuit around a dam with a hill top finish of around 1km in length. The hill was really getting to me every lap and in the end there was only 60 riders left, just hung on and finished somewhere in the first 30.
Stage 3 - Shuzeji circuit. Now this is mad, today we are in the Japanese cycle sports center, basically a keirin school and for those of you unaware of keirin it is basically Japanese track racing in a horse racing environment. The riders wear certain colours with body armour protection and big helmets with big numbers. The race consists of 3 laps and the betting is huge. In the school here a Japanese rider spends a full year learning tactics, training, and the rules of keirin. In that year he cannot go home, and follows a training program of military style to become a professional keirin racer. On the completion of this year he receives a license and can go on to make a lot of money on the circuit. The facility itself is awesome with 3 outdoor tracks and one indoor, medical facilities, lodgings, school buildings, and all surrounded by a 13km purpose built road circuit on which we will race. I do a warm up lap before the start and when I arrive back to the tent the guys ask sheepishly for my assessment of the course. It is unreal. with four, 2km hills each requiring 39*23 and more twists and turns than a Belgian kermesse race. After one lap guys are already heading south and after two the selection is made with 40 guys in the front. I am there but suffering big time. It is a circuit where you are constantly on the limit and Get it very hard to eat and eventualy with 20 kms to go I get the hunger knock, and the legs fall to pieces, I have been in the front all day and I lose contact in the final kilometers losing valuable time, I am so annoyed with myself, I am a pro and I didn't eat, I reason with myself I could'nt eat, no excuse, eating is fuel, fuel is power, power is results, not eating is dumb. Winner Mauro Gianetii (Vini Caldirola)
Stage 4 - Motegi twin ring circuit. The motegi twin ring is a motor racing circuit with an oval for Nascar and Indy racing and also a road circuit of F1 standards. Each team has a pit lane and the circuit has a few hills. A soft break goes away with ten kms to go and Alexia fail to close it for Minali. I finish 16th.
Stage 5 - Utsonimiya circuit. For those of you who remember this was the venue for the 1990 world road race championships won by the late great Rudy Dhaenens a very hilly circuit with an amazing descent. Not a very good day for me a lot of guys eliminated today for being outside the time limit.Winner Piotr Wadecki (Mroz)
Stage 6 - Tokyo circuit. We had a big transfer yesterday of 6 hours in a bus but the hotel last night made up for it. Consisting of three towers right bang in the middle of Tokyo, 40 restaurants, shopping arcades etc... We have dinner in a restaurant 45 floors up with the most amazing view across Tokyo to Mt. Fuji. The race was very fast with Vini Caldirola under attack from all sides but they controlled it well. I finish 15th on the stage and 40th in the final classification.
Sunday 4 June, GP Bochum (Germany)
Brilliant race, huge crowds and a 13km circuit to be completed 14 times. Today I was flying, I was every significant move but the Telekom team were chasing everything for Zabel. Won a 100 pound prime in a bunch sprint from Rossano Brassi (Polti). The circuit consisted of three hard hills with a climbers prize on the top of each and four big screen TV's recording the action. The atmosphere was brilliant. We enter the last lap and I decide it is going to be a bunch sprint, Telekom have been controlling all day, then it happens the softest break that was ever witnessed in a bike race 12 guys including Davy Delme from Tonissteiner, I can do nothing just watch it go as Telekom blow up and Zabel starts losing the head. I cannot pursue for the risk of closing the gap to Davy. In the end Jans Koerts wins for Farm Frites with Stuart O Grady second and Davy fifth.
That's all folks---- till next time---- take care
Morgan.
PS Congratulations to Ciaran on his ride in the Giro. Brilliant, fantastic, what a God. !!!!!!!!!.......... and hopefully an inspiration to all you young guy's.
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