Tour de Taiwan Stage 5: Itamar Einhorn Takes the Victory

2024-03-14 23:30:00
The fifth and final stage of the Tour de Taiwan was won by Itamar Einhorn (Israel, Israel Premier Tech). JCL Team Ukyo won the overall team victory, Matteo Marcelli (Italy) took 2nd place in the section and won the points award, and Yuma Koishi took 2nd place overall and was crowned Asia leader.
Daiki Yamamoto and Yuma Koishi of JCL Team Ukyo tried to escape from the beginning of the race photo: Tour de Taiwan
The Tour de Taiwan (UCI 2.1), which tours Taiwan, the center of the global bicycle industry, has entered its fifth and final stage. Although the 146.4km course featured 3rd, 2nd, and 4th class mountains in the middle, it was a sprint stage with flat roads extending for about 60km to the finish.

With occasional raindrops falling on the players, JCL Team Ukyo’s 2nd place overall finisher Yuma Koishi and Japanese champion Daiki Yamamoto ride on the run with 5 members. However, this was captured by Ekipo Cologne Farma, which has overall leader Ivan Cobo (Spain), and an attack broke out immediately after. This led to the formation of a leading group of about 40 people, including Koishi.

Equipo Cologne Pharma chasing the lead group photo:Tour de Taiwan
Yuma Koishi (JCL Team Ukyo) aiming for bonus time in the intermediate sprint photo: Tour de Taiwan
Equipo Cologne Farma was unable to send any athletes to the race, and was forced to chase the race with more than 100km remaining until the finish. Koishi, who became the overall virtual leader after Kobo’s delay, will aim to gain bonus time in the two intermediate sprints. However, in both cases, Joseph Blackmore (Britain, Israel Premier Tech), who placed 4th overall, came first, so Koishi allowed a virtual turnaround.

Ekipo Cologne Farma’s pursuit efforts could not reach the leading group, which rotated beautifully, and the attacks by Porti Cometa and CCACHE x Par Küp, which were launched just before the finish line, could not be determined. The race then turned into a sprint between the leading groups.

Itamar Einhorn (Israel) from Israel Premier Tech’s train started a sprint with 100m remaining, and Matteo Marcelli (Italy, JCL Team Ukyo) took the lead by stepping in a moment earlier. Manuel Peñalver (Spain, Porti Cometa) also approached from the right, and as a result of Einhorn, Marcelli, and Peñalver throwing their handles, Einhorn took the victory.

Itamar Einhorn (Israel, Israel Premier Tech) defeated Matteo Marcelli (Italy, JCL Team Ukyo) and others to get his second win in the section. Photo: Tour de Taiwan
Einhorn grabbed his second victory in the section following the first day of the tournament. The overall victory was also won by Israel’s Blackmore.

On the other hand, Koishi, who fought well and won second place overall and the Asia leader jersey, said, “I was betting on the chance to come back until the end and tried the sprint point, and was able to gain some time, but Blackmore was unable to do so here. We did well in everything. Although it’s frustrating, we were able to compete in a variety of situations for five days with a spirit of challenge, and as a result, we came in 2nd place, 1st place overall as a team, and won the sprint award. I’m grateful to my teammates for helping me until the end. Looking back on the tournament, he said, “As a continental team that runs in Italy, I think we were able to compete in a better way in Asia.”

As mentioned in Koishi’s comment, Ukyo not only won Marcelli’s points award, but also won the overall team championship. Commenting on this result, general manager and manager Alberto Volpi said, “The members worked hard in every stage with an aggressive attitude. This is something we can be proud of. Finishing in second place is always a disappointing result, but we did our best. “It’s still a great result. I would like to congratulate the members who ran a great race.”

Yuma Koishi (JCL Team Ukyo) won 2nd place overall photo: Tour de Taiwan
JCL Team Ukyo standing on the podium after winning the overall team victory Photo: Tour de Taiwan