A (Future) Star is Met - Ryuki Uga

Ryuki Uga - Pro Cyclist

A few weeks back, in late September, I took a morning spin on the Pelso Brevet recumbent to, and up and down, the Tamagawa. As I was heading downriver toward Haneda, I picked up speed a bit and eventually passed a young Japanese road cyclist who was riding at a fast but relaxed pace. He did not chase me.  But he passed me back at the next location where the path dipped under a bridge and then climbed back up a zig-zag to the top of the embankment.  This is pretty typical with the Pelso -- fast on the flats, but slow maneuvering up zig zag climbs.  Anyway, I passed him again a kilometer or so later, and stayed ahead until the Torii (shrine gate) at the entrance to Haneda, where he pulled up to say hello.

He commented on the recumbent (of course), but he also mentioned the Paris-Brest-Paris jersey that I was wearing. He told me that he was a pro cyclist and would be going to France (based out of Bretagne) from January.  I told him that, alas, I am American, not French, but I plan to go back again for PBP 2023. He said his name is Ryuki Uga and he rides (this year at least) for Team Ukyo Sagamihara, a UCI Continental team. I wished him well and he was off, continuing his ride.

From Strava, I could see that he trains pretty regularly, this year at least, along the Tamagawa and nearby.  So I followed him on Strava.

A few days later, on October 2, he won his first race as a professional, the Oita Urban Classic.  Apparently he was racing to support one of the more experienced riders on his team, Yoshioka, and ended up bridging a gap between the peleton and a small breakaway group relatively late in the race as part of that duty.  But the peleton never caught up. A couple of the riders dropped out of the breakaway, and with two laps left of the 11km circuit, there were only 3 riders in front. On the last lap, he rode away from the remaining competitor for a solo victory. 

Not even close!

I guess this is not such a surprise to those who follow Japan cycle racing, given that Uga-san was awarded the "white jersey" (best young rider) award last year for the new Japan Cycling League (JCL), and that he is going to Europe.

Anyway, I see that this week he is racing the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, an 8-day stage race that features plenty of World Tour teams (though no Pogacar, Van Aert, or Roglic types).  Ivan Sosa of Movistar beat Hugh Carty of EF Education on the big climbs of Stage 3 yesterday.  But I see that Uga-san is ahead of Van der Poel of Alpecin Deceuninck now in the GC!!! Wow.  (Oh, that is David van der Poel, older brother of MVP, not MVP himself.)  And today he did a flat 141kms at an average speed of 41.5kph.  That's something.

I'll be looking forward to great things from Uga-san, and watching his development. You can follow him on Strava and do the same.  Or if you ride along the Tamagawa, you may be able to say hi sometime ... before he leaves for the big show.