Bauke Mollema separated Diego Ulissi from his first victory in the Japan Cup.

The captain of LAMPRE-MERIDA was beaten by the Dutch rider in a restricted sprint of 6 riders, that also involved the future blue-fuchsia-green rider YukiyaArashiro (3rd), the current LAMPRE-MERIDA young gun Jan Polanc (5th) and his future teammate Matej Mohoric (6th).

The race (144.2 km, 14 laps of a circuit) was led by 7 continental riders that were controlled by the bunch, led by theLAMPRE-MERIDA's rider Chun Kai Feng and by members of the other main teams.

In the last two laps, Mori, Ravasi and Polanc gave their support to Feng so the breakaway was neutralized and a series of attacks began .

Polanc and Ulissi were the most active riders in the team directed by Bruno Vicino: in the last lap, Ulissi succeeded in escaping from the restricted peloton with Mollema, Henao and Arashiro and they were joined in the run-in to the finish line by Polanc, Gerts and Mohoric too.
In the sprint, Ulissi had to brake in order to avoid a touch of wheels, so he had to settle for second.

"Congratulations to all of our guys for the way they did the race and congratulations to Mollema who perfect perfect. To see the race ending like this leaves some regrets but the satisfaction of having done everything possible remains," said sports director Bruno Vicino. "We found ourselves at ease in the usual plot of the race, we intervened to pick up the pace and skim the peloton to avoid a big group at the end. Feng, Ravasi, Mori and Polanc were excellent, with the latter also able to offer help in the final lap and get to the finish with the front group alongside Ulissi.

"Diego had problems in the sprint and was in danger of being closed against the barriers. Then a possible touch of wheels forced him to miss a pedal stroke and his chances of winning. 

"The Japanese public is always wonderful, and the sponsors who have supported us have appreciated the commitment with which we tried to win: this makes us proud."