ツアー・オブ・ジャパン 2024

Max Walker takes his second stage win!
4 riders from Astana QAZAQSTAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM within Top 10!

Day 7 of the Tour of Japan featured a stage in Sagamihara City, which celebrates its 70th anniversary as a city this year. Starting from Hashimoto Park, the race will pass the old Ogura Bridge after a 4.8 km parade section, followed by an actual start. A course of 107.5 km in running distance was set for seven laps around the course in front of Toriihara Fureai no Yakata.

From the first lap, many riders who wanted to escape jumped out, but no decisive moves were made. At the first intermediate sprint point, KOBAYASHI Marino (MATRIX POWERTAG), who was in 8th place overall, crossed the line first taking the 3' bonus seconds. Points leader TERADA Yoshiki (Shimano Racing) crossed the line in second place and added points to his tally.

At the end of the first lap, mountain leader NAKAI Tadaaki's teammate IRIBE Shotaro (both from Shimano Racing) took KOM. With no breakaway deciding, the second sprint point was won by TERADA.

At the second KOM, IRIBE again led the pack. At this point, a six-man breakaway group was formed with KAZAMA Shoma (Shimano Racing), ODA HIJIRI (MATRIX POWERTAG), Adne VAN ENGELEN (ROOJAI INSURANCE), MAGOSAKI Daiki (KINAN RACING TEAM), and KUSABA Keigo (AISAN RACING TEAM).

MAGOSAKI and VAN ENGELEN were the first to cross the final intermediate sprint and KOM respectively. The six escapees were brought back before the final lap. Max WALKER (Astana QAZAQSTAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM), KOJIMA Naoki (JAPAN NATIONAL TEAM), and VAN ENGELEN, who remained in the breakaway, took over the lead.

It was WALKER who finished 3-man sprint off. Giovanni CARBONI, who finished with a 5-second gap to the main group, held on to the overall leader's jersey. Astana QAZAQSTAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM had four riders in the top 10.

Max WALKER (Astana QAZAQSTAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM) – Stage7 70th Anniversary of Sagamihara city stage Winner
“I'm happy the start of the race went really well and the whole race has been good for the team. I've tried every day and I can win again today. We're good at the uphill finish so we just thought we'll do what we can everyone, don’t miss any breakaways. “

Giovanni CARBONI (JCL TEAM UKYO) – Stage6 Fujisan Winner & Green Jersey Wearer
“It was a very fast stage today. But my team controlled well the situation. We're thinking about tomorrow, wearing Green jersey in Tokyo is our goal. I felt the strongest out of the three but the other two riders did pull very hard.  Anyway, I felt like I was going to win. I have to say thank you to the team because without them I don't think I'd make it to the finish. I'd love to do the Tour de France one day, I think that's every cyclist's dream. That's my goal.”

TERADA Yoshiki (SHIMANO RACING TEAM) – Blue Jersey Wearer
“I went for the intermediate points and also aimed for the points at the finish line, where the distribution of points is large. From the beginning of the race, there was a fierce battle of attacks, but I felt I was in good shape. I was still in the pack at the first two intermediate sprint points, so I went for the points. After that, IRIBE and KAZAMA took over the breakaway, so I was able to focus on getting into position for the finish, and I was happy that I managed to add four points to my tally. Tomorrow in Tokyo, I will do my best to finish with a smile on my face.”

NAKAI Tadaaki (SHIMANO RACING TEAM) – Red Jersey Wearer
“After the start today, I felt my legs heavy due to fatigue, but thanks to my teammate IRIBE, who passed the first KOM at the front, I was able to confirm this jersey. I wanted to make a move for Terada at the end of the race, but we did not work well together. Tomorrow, I will be back on the bike to try to win final points jersey for him. It would be nice if two Japanese could take the special jersey tomorrow."

Nicolas Vinokurov (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) – White Jersey Wearer
“It was not easy day at all. It was a very hard day from the beginning. Everybody wanted to go to the breakaway. It's super nice that Max could attack in the last lap and win the stage. We won already three stages here in Japan, team's atmosphere is great."