Farewell victory at end of three seasons with team, Pole heads elsewhere for 2013
One day before the Japan Cup road race, Saxo Bank Tinkoff Bank rider Jaroslaw Marycz soloed to a fine win in the warm-up criterium. The Polish rider attacked inside the final kilometre and caught the sprinters out, getting a gap that they were unable to close before the line.
“I'm truly happy about winning one of the very final races on the calendar and for the team where I've been really happy to be for the last three seasons,” he said afterwards. “It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to end my stay this way.
“In the final kilometer, I saw an opportunity to go and I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best and apparently, they weren't able to catch me again.”
The 25 year old joined the team in 2010 and has raced there for three seasons. He is due to head elsewhere next season, with the Polish CCC Polstat squad thought to be his likely destination.
While tomorrow’s Japan Cup road race is the highlight of the weekend, the critierum is also an important target for teams. His Saxo Bank Tinkoff Bank squad rode aggressively in the race, with Japanese rider Takashi Miyazawa being particularly fired up in racing on home soil.
Team directeur sportif Philippe Mauduit was very satisfied by how things turned out, and admitted that he too was surprised the late attack paid off. “The boys did a great job riding aggressively throughout the entire race joining almost every breakaway there was. As the peloton was complete thundering towards the finish line, everyone expected a bunch sprint but Jaro (Marycz) took all of us by surprise as he launched away on the final kilometre and denied the sprinters the win.”
Orica GreenEdge rider Fumi Beppu was second, just ahead of the team's sprint mentor Robbie McEwen.
The Japan Cup road race takes place tomorrow. It was won last year by Nathan Haas, who is part of the Garmin-Sharp team this time round. His team-mate Dan Martin was the victor one year earlier.