ツアー・オブ・ジャパン 2025

The Remarkable Strength of JCL TEAM UKYO
RACCANI Simone rises to the top after mastering the tough Iida stage.　　

Stage 5: The Watahan Shinshu Iida Stage Marks the Start of the Second Half of the Tour of Japan. Known as the true kickoff of the GC battle, this 120.9 km stage features a demanding 12.2 km circuit looped nine times after the opening lap. 
With constant elevation changes, it’s a stage that often turns into a true survival race.
 
A breakaway formed early in the first lap. BATSAIKHAN Tegsh-bayar (ROOJAI INSURANCE), MANCEBO PEREZ Francisco (MATRIX POWERTAG), and WALSH Liam (CCACHE X BODYWRAP) surged ahead on the first lap. The peloton allowed the trio to go, and the time gap eventually stretched to a maximum of 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

With three tough KOM (King of the Mountains) points up for grabs—each worth 7 points due to the steep climbs—BATSAIKHAN Tegsh-bayar (ROOJAI INSURANCE) took full advantage from the breakaway. He was first over the summit on both the second and fifth laps, cutting the gap to KOM leader GARIBBO Nicolò (JCL TEAM UKYO) to just a single point.
 
On lap 6, with the peloton still lacking pace, RICHARDS Kane (ROOJAI INSURANCE) and BETTLES Carter (ROOJAI INSURANCE), HEIDEMANN Miguel (REMBE | RAD-NET), and BALDACCINI Davide (SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI) launched an attack and successfully bridged to the leading trio.

At the start of the seventh lap, where the last mountain points are given, the lead group of seven riders was 44 seconds ahead of the main group. ROOJAI INSURANCE, aiming to keep their numbers strong, worked together to lead the breakaway and helped BATSAIKHAN earn mountain points. 
However, GARIBBO, showing a powerful climb from the main peloton behind, surged past BATSAIKHAN just before the KOM and took the lead at the summit. BATSAIKHAN lost the chance to secure the King of the Mountain jersey at the final moment.

The aggressive attack from JCL TEAM UKYO continued. RACCANI Simone chased down RICHARDS and WALSH, who had broken away from the peloton. Sitting 14th overall, 48 seconds behind his teammate and race leader FANCELLU Alessandro,
RACCANI powered past the two riders ahead on the climb of the eighth lap and crossed the KOM point solo in the lead. From a group that was behind the attack of the overall leadership team, STEWART Mark (SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI) jumped out alone on the descent and caught up with RACCANI. 
The final lap began with two riders in the lead. STEWART Mark, the overall winner of the recent Tour de Kumano, was sitting sixth in the general classification, 44 seconds behind. With his teammate and race leader FANCELLU in the group behind, RACCANI Simone refrained from taking turns at the front, putting pressure on STEWART.
 
With no organized chase forming in the main peloton, the stage was decided in a two-man contest. At 300 meters to go, RACCANI made his move. STEWART, having spent over a lap setting the pace at the front, was unable to respond. RACCANI crossed the finish line two seconds ahead to take the stage victory. The main group, reduced to 19 riders, finished 47 seconds behind.
 
As a result, RACCANI, who gained bonus time, took the overall lead as well, and took over the green jersey from teammate FANCELLU. Following the Inabe stage, the high individual performances of the JCL TEAM UKYO riders were again highlighted here. RACCANI is in first place overall, FANCELLU sits third overall at 9 seconds back wearing the blue jersey, and GARIBBO ranks fifth overall, 44 seconds behind, in the red jersey.
 

Curiously, there was no mood of celebration among the team despite the new stage win and exclusive of three classification jerseys. Among the Italian riders, who seem to quietly push each other to perform at their best, it may be that who wins carries as much meaning as how the victory is achieved.

Meanwhile, a composed STEWART Mark spoke calmly after his defeat. 
“Today, the plan was to race aggressively alongside BALDACCINI. With two laps to go, CONTI told me he was confident in the sprint, which signaled me to launch my attack. I knew I could catch RACCANI, but I should have done it later. Since my teammate was wearing the leader’s jersey, I expected RACCANI wouldn’t take turns at the front. So, if I had caught him near the end of the final KOM, when we were both equally fatigued, I might have had a chance to compete. But JCL is very strong. They have been racing exceptionally well this week.”

As the only professional team in the race, the focus is placed not so much on who wins, but rather on how the victory is achieved. 
Tomorrow marks the queen stage of the race—the Mt. Fuji stage. JCL TEAM UKYO has shown a high level of strength, and the other teams can only hope that the top three overall finishers will not become a monolith.
Mt. Fuji stage, where it will be a battle of strength, it remains to be seen whether psychological race strategies will be effective. In any case, Tour of Japan 2025 is set to take a decisive turn on the sacred slopes of Mt. Fuji.

Stage Winner & General Individual Time Classification (Green Jersey)
RACCANI Simone (JCL TEAM UKYO) - Comment:
"Today, I made my move in the final part of the race and managed to take the green jersey. Tomorrow is the toughest stage on Mt. Fuji. Both the team and I will be tested to see if we can defend the jersey in the best way possible. I don’t mind if it’s me or a teammate wearing it—as long as we keep it in the team. Wearing the green jersey in Tokyo is a major goal and a dream, and of course I want to win this race, but for now, I’m focusing on the stages ahead. They won’t be easy, that’s for sure."

General Individual Points Classification (Blue Jersey)
FANCELLU Alessandro (JCL TEAM UKYO) – Comment:
"Today was a tough day with many attacks. In the first part of the race, our team controlled the pace, and later on, RACCANI and a few others broke away with a strong move. The most important thing is that we managed to keep the green jersey within the team. Tomorrow will be a short but very hard stage, and we’ll do our best to defend the jerseys together."

General KOM Classification (Red Jersey)
GARIBBO Nicolo (JCL TEAM UKYO) – Comment:
"It was a hard race today. As a team, maybe we weren’t perfectly in sync at times, but we managed to win the stage and keep the leader’s jersey, so I think we can be satisfied with that. Tomorrow’s stage will be too tough for me personally, but I’ll do everything I can to help the team go for the overall victory."

Best Young Rider (White Jersey)
PLACE Maxence (WANTY-NIPPO-RE UZ) – Comment:
"Today unfolded in an unusual way. The race was very calm until about three laps to go, and then suddenly the pace picked up and everything exploded. Once the two riders broke away, there was no cooperation in the bunch, and they managed to stay clear. I tried attacking a few times, hoping something might happen, but the final climb may have been a bit too short to make a real difference."

REPORT BY OMATA Yuta

Stage 5 – Watahan Shinshu Iida results
1st    RACCANI Simone（JCL TEAM UKYO）3h 6m 01s
2nd    STEWART Mark（SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI）＋2s
3rd    CONTI Valerio（SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI）＋47s

Individual Overall Time Classification (Green Jersey)
1st    ACCANI Simone（JCL TEAM UKYO）11h 57m 39s
2nd    STEWART Mark（SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI）＋2s
3rd    FANCELLU Alessandro（JCL TEAM UKYO）＋9s

Individual Overall Points Classification (Blue Jersey)
1st    FANCELLU Alessandro（JCL TEAM UKYO）40pt
2nd    OKA Atsushi（UTSUNOMIYA BLITZEN）36pt
3rd    RACCANI Simone（JCL TEAM UKYO）34pt 

Individual Overall Mountains Classification (Red Jersey)
1st    GARIBBO Nicolò（JCL TEAM UKYO）22pt
2nd    BATSAIKHAN Tegsh-bayar（ROOJAI INSURANCE ）19pt
3rd    WALSH Liam（CCACHE X BODYWRAP）8pt

Individual Overall Best Young Rider Classification (White Jersey)
1st    PLACE Maxence（WANTY-NIPPO-RE UZ）
2nd    HEFFERNAN William（CCACHE X BODYWRAP）
3rd    HASHIKAWA Jo（AISAN RACING TEAM ）