Earlier today, John Degenkolb won the Japan Cup Criterium in Utsunomiya. Minutes after crossing the finish line, a very happy Degenkolb said his victory was one for the team: “Japan is amazing, to win here after such an amazing team effort is just great! Right from the beginning, we took control over the race. I’m so happy to finish a great season with a win and give the team a nice reward for their trust all year long!”
Trek-Segafredo took their responsibility right from the start. DS Yaroslav Popovych said: “Having Fumy (Beppu) at the start makes these races in Japan really special for us. He has won this race in the past and the plan was to go for him today as well, so it was up to us to control the race. We never gave a lot of space to any breakaway and the team worked perfectly well together.”
The team’s plans played out well indeed. Eugenio Alafaci and Laurent Didier brought the team to the last corner, with 600m to go, where Fabio Felline took over to bring Koen de Kort, John Degenkolb and Fumiyuki Beppu in first position. Koen did an amazing lead-out and John was the last man to bring Fumy to the finish line. When John saw Fumy had lost his wheel in the hectic mix-up of the sprint, he decided to keep going and he sprinted to the finish line to pass it in first position.
DS Popovych: “I am very proud of the team today. This can be called a true team victory, everybody did his share and in the end John finishes it off really nicely. Let’s hope we can repeat this tomorrow in the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race.”
