Japan's Arashiro to make debut with French outfit
16/1/2009, NST

THE 14th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) on Feb 9-15 will mark a new milestone in cycling with history created by Japan’s Yukiya Arashiro.

The 24-year-old from Okinawa starts his campaign with Pro Tour outfit Bbox-Bouygues Telecom as the first Asian to sign as a professional with a French team.

The aggressive Arashiro was signed right at the end of the transfer window from Japanese continental team Meitan Hompo-GDR and will, interestingly too, make his debut competing against his former teammates for the first time in LTdL.

Arashiro has contested the previous two editions of LTdL with Meitan Hompo-GDR.

Consistent results in France earned Arashiro the contract with Bbox-Bouygues Telecom and the Japanese rider wants to bring everything into the team, including retaining his country’s national champion’s jersey this year.

“I hope to win race with Bbox-Bouygues Telecom, including a stage in the Tour de France,” said Arashiro, who has prepared for the new season in his old team’s pre-season training base in Chiangrai, Thailand.

“The hot weather there and the climbs are similar to the conditions in Malaysia. I went to France in December for the Bbox-Bouygues Telecom training camp and I have the impression that the team is a real family.”

More importantly, the team heads into LTdL with, according to Arashiro, no designated captain and with an open tactical approach that allows each team member to go for wins to earn themselves a slot on the squad’s Tour de France roster.

Team manager for LTdL Phillipe Maduit has had a long history of working with Asian riders as manager of the former Nippo-Hondo team, while also being responsible for the first programme to integrate Japanese riders into French cycling with a tie-up with the University of Poitiers from 1998 to 2001.

Maduit has also coached the China national women’s team.

“We’ll go to LTdL with the aim of winning the overall title. Johann Tschopp will be our natural captain, considering his power-to-weight ratio and the climb up Genting Highlands will suit him well,” said Maduit.

Bbox-Bouygues Telecom line-up: Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn), Giovanni Bernadeau (Fra), Yahann Gene (Fra), Arnaud Labbe (Fra), Guillaume Le Floc’h (Fra), Johann Tschopp (Swi).

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