UPDATE: OCBC TOUR OF JAPAN (PART 3)

26 May 2014

 

UPDATE: OCBC TOUR OF JAPAN (PART 3)

 

(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Thomas Rabou wins the King of the Mountain jersey in Stage 4 of the Tour of Japan on Friday in Mount Fuji)

 

STAGE 4 – FUJISAN

THE OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team continues with its string of outstanding performances in the fourth stage of the Tour of Japan, proving that they are not easy to beat even when competing against a field of top international teams in one of the most prestigious Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2.1 Asia Tours.

OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Thomas Rabou completed the short 11.4-kilometre stage which featured a climb up to the famous Mount Fuji with a timing of 49:14, 10:23 behind stage winner Mirsamad Pourseyedigolakhour of the Tabriz Petrichemical Cycling Team from Iran, coming in 62th place. This places the star climber of the team in 62nd place. He earned himself a cumulative total of 21 points in the King-of-Mountain (KOM) rankings after Stage 4. This means he holds on to first place in KOM classification for two consecutive stages. Huge Carthy of the Rapha Condor JLT Team from Great Britan (19 points) and Stage winner Mirsamad Pourseyedigolakhour of the Tabriz Petrichemical Cycling Team (18 points) from Iran climbed to second and third place in the KOM category, respectively.

Fellow OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Cameron Bayly also put in an impressive performance, by breaking into the top-10 finish. 23-year-old Bayly completed the stage with a timing of 41:45 to finish in 10th position.

The OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team’s remaining riders Ronald Yeung (45:04), Eric Sheppard (46:04), Jang Changjae (48:16) and Low Ji Wen (50:06) came in 33rd, 39th, 62nd, and 67th respectively.

 

 

STAGE 5 – IZU

Only three out of the six OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders managed to survive a grueling Stage 5 of the Tour of Japan, which saw close to half of the field being eliminated.

The 146.4-kilometres stage in Izu required the riders to complete 12 laps around a 12.2-kilometre Japan Cycle Sports Centre Circuit Course consisting of various mountainous sections and sharp technical curves which proved to be an epic test for even some of the top international teams competing in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2.1 Asia Tour.

OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Cameron Bayly lead the team and racked up an impressive top-5 finish, finishing in 5th place with a timing of 4:16:21, 2:08 behind stage winner Ghader Mizbani Iranagh of the Tabriz Petrochemical Team from Iran.

Teammates Eric Sheppard (4:22:44) and Ronald Yeung (4:25:17) finished in 24th and 28th place, respectively.

The remaining OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders Low Ji Wen, Jang Changjae and Thomas Rabou did not finish the race.

 

(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Cameron Bayly competes in Stage 4 of the Tour of Japan in Fujisan)

 

FINAL STAGE – TOKYO

After six days of intense racing in Japan, the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team wrapped up the Tour of Japan with three of its starting six riders completing the tour successfully.

OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Cameron Bayly(15th) and Eric Sheppard (32nd) finished the race among the leading pack and was credited with a timing of 2:11:14, together with stage winner Niccolo Bonifazio of the Lampre-Merida Team from Italy.

The remaining OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Ronald Yeung (36th) completed the stage in 2:22:28

23-year-old Bayly led all OCBC riders with his impressive final ranking of 8th in the General Classification (GC) standings, followed by Sheppard IN 18th and Yeung IN 32nd. The remaining thee OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team riders Jang Chanjae, Low Ji Wen and Thomas Rabou did not finish an epic Stage 5 of the Tour at Izu, which saw close to half of the field being eliminated.

Out of the 93 riders who started the tour on Monday, only 41 completed it successfully, proving once again that the Tour of Japan is one of the most prestigious and difficult Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Asia Tour races to date.

 

(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Eric Sheppard (centre) competes in Stage 5 of the Tour of Japan in Izu)

(OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Ronald Yeung (centre) competes in Stage 5 of the Tour of Japan in Izu)

 

The OCBC riders will take a three-day break before they look ahead to the Tour of Kumano kicking off on Thursday.

 

 

All photos by OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team