Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012
I didn’t realize this, but this was the first ever Cyclo Cross Tokyo, and to say it was a success is an understatement.
We all woke up early to be at breakfast in the hotel by 7am. We were at the course with bikes, wheels, trainers and other supplies by 8 for the 40 minute course inspection, since Tim and Erik had not yet ridden the course.
There was still roughly 1.2km of sand on the course, so there was that. Knowing that, I took great pleasure in not racing.
Crowds were already starting to fill in and there were tents already raised for manufacturers and vendors.
The guys were immediately bombarded by requests for autographs, photos, interviews and introductions.
The prevailing mood for this event was excitement; not just for the fans and spectators, but for the competitors as well. The local, Japanese racers seemed thrilled at the opportunity to race along side some of the World’s elite cyclocross racers.
Cannondale’s Japanese MTB rider, Kazuhiro Yamamoto, and the local Cannondale guys offered their tent, tools, and anything else we needed to make the race go as smoothly as possible. Here, Kazu has his number pinned by his wife, Erina Yamamoto.
Our hosts from Champion System were very busy with the days duties, particularly Ryoji, who was promoting his first ever cyclocross race!
Chiharu was also busy and kept us on task with where we needed to be and when, since we understood none of the instructions and information sent out over the loud speakers.
Before we knew it, it was time to race. Hiroki Ito, Watase Yoshiki and the Cannondale crew helped out immensely by running the spare bikes to the pits while I met the guys to take their gear at the start.
The whistle blew, and the guys headed down the start stretch, immediately into a double set of barriers. On the pavement. Tim almost killed himself, but didn’t, and it was off to the pits for me.
I have some video of the race, but that will have to be posted later since internet speed at the hotel makes uploading video very difficult.
To quickly summarize, a local Japanese racer, Yu Takenouchi, took off like a bat out of hell and put a sizable gap into the entire field, making Ben Berden, and every other racer say, “Oh S***!”
Ben eventually caught Takenouchi, who appeared to have gone out a little too fast from all the excitement of the huge hometown crowds.
In the end, only five racers finished on the lead lap, with Tonkin being the first lapped rider. The final results were Berden, Johnson, Heule, Takenouchi, Driscoll, and Tonkin.
After the race, I caught some photos of the women’s podium awaiting presentation.
Spectators.
And the fun on the podium.
Champion System threw an amazing race, and the fact that this was the inaugural event is extremely promising for the future of cyclocross in this great city. This event proved that cyclocross is more than just UCI races and World Cups and SuperPrestige. Cyclocross is what you choose to make it and Tokyo has made something special with this event.
Enjoy these final, few images I think best summarize this great race:
