Team Sky closes 2015 season at Japan Cup

Final race for British squad Sky sees Ben Swift, Bernhard Eisel, Tao Geoghagen Hart and Sebastian Henao in action - Last race for Eisel in Sky colours

Bernhard Eisel

(Image credit: Watson)

Austrian Bernhard Eisel will make his final competitive appearance in Team Sky colours at the Japan Cup this weekend (October 17-18).

Eisel joins British team-mates Ben Swift and Tao Geoghagen Hart, and Colombian Sebastian Henao in Japan for Sky's season-closing race.

The 34-year-old Eisel will be reunited with former HTC-Columbia and Sky rider Mark Cavendish next season at MTN-Qhubeka/Dimension Data on a three-year deal.

A photo posted by on

The Japan Cup comprises a criterium on Saturday (October 17) and a road race on Sunday (October 18).

Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) won the road race last season, with the roll call of previous winners including Daniel Martin, Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso.

The road race is ranked 1.HC by the UCI, and comprises 144.2 kilometres based on the 1990 World Championships race route in Utsunomiya.

Chris Froome

Chris Froome indulges in a bit of sumo wrestling during the 2013 Japan Cup
(Image credit: Watson)

In previous years, riders have been involved in sumo wrestling as a publicity stunt for the race.

The vision of Chris Froome in bib shorts and bare feet wrestling a large man is something we will not easily forget.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.