History
Tour of Japan was formed as the successor of the Kokusai Cycle Road Race which began in 1982. [1] In 1996, Tour of Japan began as a UCI category 2-5 stage race, [2] and became category 2–4 in 1997. It was downgraded to category 2–5 in 2002. [3]
As the UCI race system was reformed in 2005, it was included in the UCI Asia Tour as a category 2.2 event. It became a category 2.1 event in 2013.
The race has only been cancelled three times in its history. The 2003 edition was canceled for concern over the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, and the 2011 edition was canceled because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 edition was held as a class 2.2 event and a three-day stage race with all domestic teams, exempted by the UCI from the mandatory invitation of foreign teams under Japan's international travel restrictions. The 2022 edition was held as a four-stages, class 2.2 event. It restored the eight-stages class 2.1 form in 2023.
Fuji Bikes is a brand of bicycles and cycling equipment currently owned by Advanced Sports International. The company is a descendant of Nichibei Fuji Cycle Company, Ltd. (日米富士自転車株式会社), a bicycle manufacturer originally established in Japan in 1899. The company took its name and logo from Mount Fuji, a Japanese symbol of strength and endurance.
The Tour de Langkawi is a multiple stage bicycle race held in Malaysia. It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily in February. It usually consists of 10-day-long segments (stages) over 10 days, but has been reduced to eight stages over recent years. While the route changes each year, the Genting Highlands climb, the toughest in the tour, is always included. Tour de Langkawi is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC road race in the UCI Asia Tour calendar. The race became part of the UCI ProSeries in 2020.
The Japan Cup Cycle Road Race is an annual professional road bicycle racing classic one-day race held in the city of Utsunomiya in Japan since 1992. The race usually held in October each year. It is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 1.Pro race as part of the UCI ProSeries.
The Jelajah Malaysia is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Malaysia since 1963. The race is part of the UCI Asia Tour and was classified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category races. The race exists of only a men's competition over seven stages.
The Japan Cycling Federation, abbreviated to JCF is the national governing body of cycle racing in Japan. It was established in 1995 to cover both amateur and professional cycle racing.
The Tour of Qinghai Lake is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in the Qinghai province of China since 2002, named after Qinghai Lake. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC race as part of the UCI Asia Tour. The race was to become part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020, although the event in 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 and 2022 events were held as a class 2.2 race with all domestic teams due to the international travel restrictions during the pandemic. The race returned to the UCI ProSeries in 2023.
The Tour de Hokkaido is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Hokkaido, Japan since 1987 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It is rated by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category race.
The Tour of Hainan is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Hainan Province, China. The race consists of nine stages and has been part of the UCI ProSeries since 2023, previously having been on the UCI Asia Tour. The event was first held in 2006. It was made a UCI 2.1 race from 2007 and upgraded to category 2.HC in 2009. The race was due to be part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020, but the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tour de Okinawa is an annual professional road bicycle racing classic one-day race held in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It was first started in 1989 as an amateur race, but became professional in 1999. It became part of the UCI Asia Tour in 2005. Until 2007, it was a one-day race, billing itself as the longest single-day course in Japan, but was transformed into a two-day stage race in 2008, its UCI category changing from 1.2 to 2.2. In 2008, the first day was a criterium, but from 2009, it was changed to a time trial run on the streets of Nago. The 2010 edition extended the second stage to 210 kilometers. The 2012 edition again returned to a single-day event.
The Tour de Indonesia is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Java, Indonesia since 2004. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.1 category race as part of the UCI Asia Tour.
Mayuko Hagiwara is a Japanese racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's Continental Team Eneicat–RBH Global.
Nariyuki Masuda is a Japanese professional racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team JCL Team Ukyo.
Team Bridgestone Cycling is a continental cycling team based in Japan that participates in UCI Continental Circuits races.
The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 and 2018. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Tour merged with the Dubai Tour to become the UAE Tour.
Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club is a Japanese manga series by Noriyuki Matsumoto, serialized in Mag Garden's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Comic Blade since August 2011. It has been collected in nine tankōbon volumes. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by J.C.Staff and A.C.G.T aired between January 6 and May 15, 2017.
Kyoshi Miura is a Japanese former cyclist. He was eight times national road race champion, raced professionally in Europe, represented Japan at world track championships, and even became national champion in mountain biking. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first in the men's individual road race, the second in men's cross-country mountain biking. He won the second edition of the Tour de Okinawa in 1990. After retirement, he began coaching and served as a coach for the national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
narifuri is a Japanese fashion brand based in Tokyo. Its main concept is "fashion + bicycle," and the product lineup includes a variety of clothes from casual wear and cycling jerseys to formal suits, as well as accessories such as bags, wallets, and belts.
2020 in men's road cycling is about the 2020 men's bicycle races governed by the UCI. The races are part of the UCI Road Calendar.
Keiko Sugiura is a Japanese road and track cyclist in the C3 category from Shizuoka Prefecture. She changed her surname from Noguchi (野口) to her maiden name Sugiura in 2018. She belongs to Team Bridgestone Cycling. She has also been active under the name of Yoshiko Sugiura since around 2019. Sugiura won the gold medal at the women's road time trial, at the 2020 Summer Paralympics,
The Tour de Kyushu is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Kyushu, Japan for the first time in October 2023, as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It is rated by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.1 category race. The race was created to showcase the recovery from recent disasters in Kyushu.
Jean-Philippe Duracka (FRA)
Fortunato Baliani (ITA)
Samad Pourseyedi (IRI)
Óscar Pujol (ESP)
Nathan Earle (AUS)
