This Friday 9th of May, a new page in the history of Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz was written with the first victory on the Asian continent for the young Development team, thanks to Shunsuke Imamura, stage winner on the Tour of Kumano.
An impressive success for the 26-year-old Japanese rider, author of a 15-kilometer solo raid after attacking mid-race in the company of two other riders. Keeping the peloton at distance in the rain, he dropped his breakaway companions and won the second stage with a 10 second lead over the peloton, in which the sprint for second place was won by Dusan Rajovic, from whom he reclaimed the yellow leader’s jersey.
To crown a formidable collective performance by the team directed by Steven De Neef, Keije Solen reached the podium of a UCI event for the first time in his career. The cyclo-cross specialist from Charles Liégeois Roastery CX finished third in the stage. Belgian rider Gilles Dockx, seventh in the opening stage, secured a second consecutive top 10 finish with tenth place.
Having arrived this year, Shunsuke Imamura is also a track specialist, former junior world champion in the points race and multiple Asian champion in the discipline. He delivers a third UCI race victory for Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz this season, after those of Felix Ørn-Kristoff in the Tour de Bretagne.
Tour de Kumano / Satoru Kato
“I’m incredibly happy with this win, my first road victory in a long time. The move to Wanty-NIPPO-ReUZ has been pivotal, opening my eyes to the relentless intensity of European racing, both with the Devo team and with Intermarché-Wanty. I'm constantly learning and improving thanks to the fantastic support around me. Frederik Veuchelen designs my training specifically for the efforts I will have to make in my next race, finding the ideal roads in Belgium to prepare each race. Kévin Van Melsen helps me navigate my race program, and the experience racing the Giro d’Abruzzo with World Team Intermarché-Wanty gave me huge confidence coming back to Japan. I'm so grateful for the messages from my teammates and everyone back home.” “Tomorrow will be tough in the queen stage, especially with more rain expected, but we'll fight to keep this jersey in our team. With Keije Solen and Gilles Dockx also well-placed, I believe in our chances, and I learned a lot about defending a lead when we secured the overall win of the Giro d’Abruzzo with Georg Zimmermann. I feel relaxed thanks to our support behind the scenes. Steven De Neef, our mechanic Masakazu and our soigneur David made sure the team’s European protocols are maintained here in Japan. Our recovery routines for example, with Cellavent Cherry Plus drink, Etixx recovery shake, recovery meal and a high protein snack before bedtime. This team effort is crucial for us to perform at our best level.”
Tour de Kumano / Satoru Kato
