The Japan Cup criterium gathered a very large number of fans on the streets of Utsunomiya city. Although it was not a UCI category competition, this criterium has a long tradition. This year, the composition of the participants was also very powerful. Ex-world champion Mads Pedersen also started. Meanwhile, Latvian fans kept their fingers crossed for Pedersen’s teammate Tomas Skujiņa.
The length of the track reached 33.75 kilometers, which were covered in a little more than 40 minutes. A total of 15 laps were completed. In the very dynamic competition, the fate of the winner was decided between the cyclists in the leading group of ten. Toms Skujiņš was also in this company. It was the native of Carnik who started the sprint to the finish line first. The Latvian safely defended his advantage, celebrating the victory. Tom spent 41 minutes and 32 seconds on the track. Second place went to Swiss Mauro Schmitt (“Jayco AlUala”), while Antoine Habijs (“Soudal – Quick Step”) completed the top three. 115 of the 118 cyclists who went to the start finished.
Already tomorrow, Toms Skujiņš will start in the 31st “Japan Cup” bicycle race, which is assigned the UCI Pro category. The race course, which will take you around the city circles with a distinct climb in each of them, is very handy for Tom.