Michael Valgren has had an amazing first professional season. Today the young Dane showed a new side of his versatile talent when he sprinted to sixth in the Japan Cup Criterium.

Michael Valgren sprinted to a 6th place in a very fast paced edition of Japan Cup Criterium as Tinkoff-Saxo put on an active effort during the 20 laps in the city of Utsonomiya. Sport Director Philippe Mauduit is satisfied with the team’s performance in the warm-up race before tomorrow Japan Cup.
 
“It was a proper criterium with a really fast pace and hard accelerations. Valgren finished 6th in the final burst for the line and showed that he also has potential in the sprints”, says Mauduit after the race, which was won by Team Sky’s Chris Sutton.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo played an active role in shaping the short race on the 1,5 km circuit running over the course of 20 laps. Early on in the race, Manuele Boaro made it into a 4-man breakaway.

“It was a really aggressive start. A handful of native Keirin riders were invited to race and they started out by setting a ferocious pace. Manuele got away in the breakaway and went solo with three laps to go. He kept the peloton behind him for a while but was caught as he went under the flame rouge”, adds Philippe Mauduit and continues:
 
“Tomorrow, it’s time for the real deal. Japan Cup is the final race of our season and it’s well known that it is a very hard parcours with two significant climbs on each lap. The boys are ready and we want to close the season by giving our best”.