CHIGASAKI STYLE**Olympics 2020 Tokyo Route Road Race and TT.
by: Naoki Sakai

Next year the Summer Olympics will be in Tokyo, and the best road racers will be here, vying for medals in the Road Race competition.  The course is a 234 kilometer with an elevation gain of 4,865 meters. The riders will bike the lower slopes of Mount Fuji on a route with five ascents before the race finishes at the Fuji International Speedway race track. 

 

 

 

 

 

The riders set off in the Musashinomori Park of Chofu, western Tokyo, and head toward Sagamihara on up to the mountains as the scenery switches from the city flat setting to hard climbs near Mt. Fuji.   Kanagawa’s beautiful Doushi Road is the first classified climb, 5.9 km at a 5.7% slope, as the course continues along Lake Yamanakako to reach the summit.  Another climb, the Kagosaka Pass is a short climb with its peak at an elevation of 1,111 meters. 

 

 

 

 

 

The route drops down and heads to the Mount Fuji Circuit, 50.9 km peaking at 1451 meters, and has a 14.3 km, 6% climb.  Following a 15 km descent and 40 km of winding terrain, the race passes through the Fuji Speedway racetrack before hitting its final loop as the route climbs up the Mikuni Pass, 6.5 km at 10.6%, which en route has a 4km section of an average 12% gradient., then peaks and ascends back to the Fuji Speedway, where the finale is.   Quite a steep challenge for the great riders, but should be an exciting and excellent race to watch!!  The women are on a similar route 137 km course, with less climbing, but nonetheless, will elevate 2693 meters in their race. 

 

 

 

The time trial course starts at Fuji Speedway and circles above Gotemba in a 22 km route, as the men will go two laps, for a 44 km time trial, while the women will go around once.  Both the road events and the time trials finish at the Fuji Speedway, which makes it the center of the road racing events. 

 

 

 

For the men, the mountainous course sets up for riders like Vincenzo Nibali and recent Tour de France winner Egan Bernal as favorites, while the time trial might favor Australia’s Rohan Dennis or the Netherland’s Tom Dumoulin.   Time trial favorites for the women include Dutch Annemiek van Vleuten.  Van Vleuten and defending Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen will lead the way toward gold in women’s road racing.   One thing is for sure, the course is set to show the world the beauty of Japan as it meanders thru Tokyo, Kanagawa and Shizuoka in a wonderfully scenic arena.