Rogers Wins The Japan Cup

Last updated : 20 October 2013 By Covsupport News Service

Saxo-Tinkoff's Michael Rogers won the Japan Cup.

A race which saw the majority of the major UCI World Tour teams enter took in a hilly circuit in Utsunomiya.

Team Sky's British rider Josh Edmondson attacked with Michael Rogers of Saxo Tinkoff going into the final lap. However, Rogers decided that he had enough in his legs left and he went away to take a superb solo victory ahead of Garmin Sharp's New Zealand’s Jack Bauer who was 44 seconds back.

Bauer held off the challenges of third placed Lampre's Damiano Cunego and fourth placed Julian Arredondo (Nippo-De Rosa).

Josh Edmondson finished tenth whilst Garmin-Sharp's Dan Martin, who described this as a race too far, finished 23rd, 4:04 down on Rogers, who said: “On the penultimate climb, Rory Sutherland and Evgeny Petrov did an amazing job narrowing down the front group to just seven or eight riders and soon I was alone with Edmondson.

“In the finale, I managed to go solo and was actually able to enjoy the final kilometres as the margin kept growing. A great way to win all thanks for the perfect set-up by teammates and a magnificent way to finish the season,” Rogers concluded.