Podium and second place in Japan for Pierpaolo De Negri in the first stage of the Japanese race behind Ryu Suzuki. 4th place for another #OrangeBlue, Giacomo Berlato.
8 September 2017 – Hakodate › Hokuto
Pierpaolo De Negri on podum in the first stage of the Tour de Hokkaido. Second place in the foto-finish arrival, won by Ryu Suzuki – team Bridgestone. The #OrangeBlue rider in the 2016 season already won a stage and the point jersey of the tour and this year is again in the battle for the victory thanks to his great feeling with Japanese races.
THE RACE.
156km and a climb to afford before the final sprint. The group had to work to close on the breakaway of the day. A great job was made before by Marino Kobayashi, then by Nicola Bagioli during today climb and then by Hideto Nakane and Giacomo Berlato. At the end is time for sprinters with the team working for Pierpaolo De Negri, final 2nd and a good Giacomo Berlato, final 4th.
THE DECLARATION.
Not completely satisfied of the final results and a lot of motivation for upcoming stages, these the words of Pierpaolo De Negri: “It’s a pity to come second for very few. There was some contrary wind and Suzuki was good to come back in the very final meters. The team worked very well before to close the gap, then to helps me in the sprint. Tomorrow we will try again to battle for the success.”