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:
Dinner Before the Race.
Back to chronological order, here…Friday.
On Friday, the rest of the racers arrived in Tokyo: Ben Berden, Tim Johnson, and Eric Tonkin.
Christian, Jamey and I were passing time in my hotel when Berden arrived at the hotel in Daiba late Friday afternoon and stopped by our room to say hello.
Ben’s most pressing question was what we were going to do at night.
He was welcomed to our room by a pant-less Christian, who spent many hours like this on Tim’s bed before he arrived to that evening.
“I can do this because I am Euro.” That is an actual quote. And he’s right.
Local Rapha rep, Daisuke Yano, also showed up to join us for a course pre-ride that would be happening a few hours later.
I sat where I usually do, in front of the laptop trying to upload photos, videos and write posts like this one…
A few hours later, Tim and Eric had arrived, the course inspection was done and we were on our way to another authentic Japanese dinner with our Champion System hosts, Ryoji, Shinya, and Chiharu.
The dinner we had is called Shabu Shabu. It’s basically a large pot of boiling water and oil, into which you dip an assortment of vegetables and, more importantly, delicious, thinly-sliced beef.
I ordered myself a Ginger Ale. It turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever had.
I had told our hosts upon first arriving here, when asked what type of Japanese food I knew and liked, that I loved Tempura. They were thrilled about this, so naturally they surprised us with some appetizers of Tempura fish, shrimp and vegetables.
The Tempura was amazing. Light, clean, and delicious. The shrimp barely required chewing. I don’t know what the fish was, and I don’t care, because it was good.
They placed three large pots of the water and oil mix on our table and beneath them were what basically amounted to gas-fired Sternos.
Then they brought out three large plates of items we would be dropping into the boiling pots.
There was cabbage, Udon noodles, mushrooms, carrots, seaweed, tofu (which is amazing here - more soft and gelatinous that what we find at home), green onions, and more.
Then came the thinly-sliced beef.
Once the water oil was nearly boiling, we received two dipping sauces, a sweet, almost citrus soy sauce and a sesame-based sauce. We also each got a bowl of rice to pair with all the other items. We got the nod from the server to start dropping food in the pots and we had at it.
I had the misfortune of sharing a pot with Jamey Driscoll. He eats quickly. He eats a lot.
After we could eat no more, Ryoji and Shinya had to leave to attend to preparations for the next day’s race. Chiharu asked if we needed anything else and I said we needed dessert. Christian, Jamey and I had stumbled upon a crepe/ice cream vendor earlier in the day, so we went there.
After eating some crepes filled with ice cream and chocolate covered bananas, the fatigue started to show on the faces of everyone and we called it a night.
Saturday morning would be more course time for Cyclo Cross Tokyo 2012 and then the big event at 12:00. None of us knew what to expect, but this being a blog, and tomorrow actually really being two days ago, it would turn out to be amazing and more than anyone could have expected. More on that soon.
Wait up, #Japandler
You saw Christian Heule pre-riding Koksijde behind Sven Nys.
Now you get to see him pre-riding Cyclocross Tokyo behind me…notice how natural I look in the Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld Pro kit. I could get used to wearing those colors…hopefully Team Director, Stu Thorne, will take notice.
If you’re looking for some analysis on this course, here goes:
The stuff in the woods was some of the most fun I’ve had on a cyclocross bike. It was like riding through a dark jungle, with loose needles and leaves over soft, loose dirt.
As for the sand, we skipped the first half that was completely un-rideable for me. After riding the second half of the sand, I was barely able to climb the steps and remount. Pedaling the start/finish stretch was not an option.
That was one lap, and I think the Pro race was 11 or more laps.
Cover the Plate.
Earlier this year I waged a bet with a kind gentleman from Canada.
The contest was a head to head battle at the Grand Prix of Gloucester in the Men’s B Race and to the victor went a hefty supply of Pure Maple Syrup from the loser’s region.
Long story short, I won the bet and received my winnings at the NBX Warwick Race in early December.
That weekend, Christian Heule stayed with Todd and me at my Mother-in-Law’s apartment. Christian expressed some interest in the maple syrup before Saturday’s race when he asked to pour a small amount in his water bottle before the race.
He asked to pour a little in his water bottle after the race.
As we left the race, I noticed the container of maple syrup in his bags.
Saturday evening, back at the apartment, he poured a little maple syrup in his water bottle before dinner.
Sunday morning, he poured a little maple syrup in his water bottle before breakfast. As he finished the pour, he licked the rim of the container and closed it up.
I gasped at this and asked, “Did you really just lick the rim?”
His reply was as concise as one would expect from a Swissman, “It’s mine now.”
I had had the privilege of a small taste of the syrup upon receipt. Beyond that, I had none.
This morning at 7:01 am I received a message from Christian asking if I was ready for the breakfast buffet at the hotel in Tokyo. Knowing breakfast began one minute earlier, I obliged.
As we walked down the corridor to the hotel restaurant, neither of us knew what to expect, except for the standard courtesy and politesse that we have encountered with every single person we have met on this trip. Even from as far away as I was in the next image, the pleasantries of the greeting Christian received are obvious.
We were very pleased with what we saw around the corner. Food. Lots of food. And of all types. And coffee. Good coffee. There were waffles, pancakes, omelets, scrambled eggs, croissants, chocolate crossaints, cereals, rice, baked salmon, mango, bananas, mixed fruit, pasta, bacon, breads, soups, and more.
Christian and I filled a few plates and returned to our table.
They had real maple syrup. As a New Englander, I have accepted real maple syrup to be a rarity when traveling outside the region that is the awesomest.
Christian was also excited, obviously. So excited, he poured some all over my plate for me.
Having learned nothing from the maple syrup incident, I asked Christian to sit in front of my plate because I was having some lighting issues for photographing. Yeah, I’m serious about this photography now. Knowing I have to offload content to Todd each time I shoot so he can edit it, I need to cover my ass.
Whilst Christian sat in the good light, he began eating my food and saying things like, “I like that.”
Lucky for him, this was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos, but everything is small. Small pancakes. Small waffles. Even the bananas are small. I will take some scaled photos tomorrow, because it is exciting.
Speaking of bananas.
After Christian finished sampling my plate, we each filled another four or five plates and ate until we could eat not more.
Then I took some photos of the views from the restaurant of the notorious Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower.
The best part is, we get to repeat this morning ritual for the next five days. I’ve never had baked salmon for breakfast. It might be time.
Sushi in Tokyo
After leaving the airport, Shinya brought The Dangler and me to meet two more Champsys hosts, Chiharu and Ryoji, at a local Sushi eatery, not far from our hotel.
Bear with me on these next photos because, like I mentioned, I would prefer to not have to think at all when using a camera and it stresses me out having to do so. As a result, Todd edited these remotely and did what he could to fix them for me. I promise, though, they’re getting better.
Our host, Chiharu.
Host Ryoji.
Outside most of the restaurants near the hotel they display all the menu items in the windows.
We let our hosts order our dinner and while it was similar to sushi you might find in America, there were subtle differences. There was no pile of wasabi that many Americans use to pollute their soy sauce and prove their tolerance for spice.
Many of the items were familiar, but some were more intimidating, like the large eel seen in the forefront of this photo.
The chu toro (fatty tuna) was the best I’ve ever had and the Salmon roe was less salty and less potent than what I’m used to.
