TOKYO 2020 | Aussies descend on Mt Fuji

Members of the Australian Cycling Team have wrapped up a reconnaissance trip to Japan for a test run on the official Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycling road race courses. 

Rohan Dennis and Amanda Spratt, both aiming for a third Olympic Games team selection, and Paracyclist Paige Greco who is gunning for a maiden first Paralympic Team nod, covered parts of the course almost a year out from the Games. 

“Little bit more humid than what we were expecting, it is obviously quite a nice track, going to be quite fast. I believe it is going to be a race of attrition on this course,” said 2018 time trial world champion Dennis. 

The road races will start at Musashinonomori Park in Chofu, western Tokyo, with a 10km neutral zone through urban areas of Tokyo, roads with mountain views and attractive lakes against the backdrop of Mt. Fuji. 

After leaving the Tokyo metropolitan area, the routes will take in three prefectures to the west of the capital before the race hits the lower slopes of the iconic Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain.  

The final stretches of the course will feature challenging terrain before the race culminates with circuits in and around the Fuji Speedway, a motorsport race track located immediately below Mount Fuji. 

“Pretty cool to be here, it is an amazing place to have the finish line for the Olympic Games, will certainly be a great spectacle with the grandstands,” Amanda Spratt, 2018 World Championship road race silver medallist. 

“It is very different having such wide roads to race on, this is very different for us. But it is about picking which lines to take, so it has been really valuable to be here and ride the course.”

Greco who is aiming for selection to the Australian Paralympic team which will contest the Paralympic Games road race, individual time trial and team relay events, could picture the atmosphere expected in twelve months time. 

“Good to come here ahead of the Games to learn about the heat, to feel the atmosphere of being at the track, it is exciting knowing how big it will be next year with the crowd.” ​