How JCL Team UKYO is providing a pathway for Japanese cyclists
A Japanese squad with Italian flavours - General Manager Alberto Volpi on his team's top season and developing Japanese talent
For those who regularly follow cycling across Asia, the Japanese JCL Team UKYO will be very familiar. Since their launch in 2012, the continental squad have been one of Asia’s top teams, winning some of the continent’s biggest races.
This year, JCL Team UKYO have been through a period of change. Instead of merely focusing on the Asia Tour, the team have set up a hub in Italy and hired experienced General Manager Alberto Volpi. In collaboration with recently retired former WorldTour pro Manuele Boaro, Volpi has given an Italian distinction to the Japanese squad, bringing on board the likes of Matteo Malucelli, Manuele Boaro and Thomas Pesenti.
The team spent half the year racing in Asia, and the other half based in the Italian city of Lecco, from where they have competed in a high-level European programme.
"Participating in more European competitions and developing Japanese and other national riders is our imperative," Volpi told tuttobiciweb.
“Managing everything was tiring, intercontinental coordination requires extreme precision and I am satisfied with the work done,” he added.
Read more: The peloton heads to East Asia, but how far away are China and Japan from the sport's elite?
The team has been spearheaded this season by the three Italians, who in total have amassed 14 wins between them. The success has vaulted sprinter Malucelli to the WorldTour with Astana Qazaqstan for 2025.
The team finished the season 32nd on the UCI Teams ranking, ahead of several ProTeam squads. They were also the second best Asian continental team behind the Malaysian Terengganu squad.
Alongside the three Italians have been seven of Japan’s best riders, as well as veteran Nathan Earle. Volpi picked out youngsters Koki Kamada and Sato Koryo as riders he is particularly excited about developing further, their age giving them a high ceiling to grow towards. Of the two, Kamada looks the one with the most potential, having completed the Coppi e Bartali stage race this season.
Volpi also had praise for Manabu Ishibashi, who had a solid end to the season with 24th at the Tour of Langkawi, and Masaki Yamamoto, who has shown a high level on the climbs for several years. As older riders, however, they are not expected to progress further than racing for the Japanese team.
Looking ahead, Volpi said that the team will be made up of “three Italians, a Spaniard, an Eritrean and the Japanese” next season.
Rumours are circulating that the Eritrean in question could be young Nahom Zeray, 11th at the Tour de l’Avenir this year, who was left without a team after the Q36.5 Continental Development team folded. Global Peloton also understands that top Japanese rider Marino Kobayashi will join the team from Matrix Powertag.
Meanwhile Atsushi Oka, one of the team’s most consistent riders over the past couple of years, will leave the team. Global Peloton understands that the rider who won the Tour de Kumano this year and the sprints jersey in the AlUla Tour is heading to another Japanese continental team, Utsunomiya Blitzen.
Volpi said that after the team’s success this year he has been flooded with riders wanting to join the squad.
“Every day I receive many emails from guys asking me to include them in the team. Unfortunately, it is not possible,” he said.
The growth of JCL Team UKYO is a major boost for cycling in Japan, creating a rare pathway to European competition and the prospect of progression in the sport.
The last major pathway to the elite levels for Japanese riders came through the EF-Nippo Devo team, a Swiss-based continental feeder team to the WorldTour EF squad which folded at the end of 2023. For several years, that team provided a way for young Japanese riders to race in Europe and gave Yuhi Todome the platform to step up to the WorldTour squad at the start of 2024.
With Japan’s two long-standing professionals, Yukiya Arashiro and Eri Yonamine, both retiring this season, Japan is desperately in need of more effective talent development.
Cycling in Japan has focused over the years on set piece events, including the Japan Cup and Tour de France Saitama Criterium. The common criticism has been that cycling development in the country has suffered as a result.
“Personally, just my opinion, they put money not in the right place. They put money to make good race, but they didn't put money to develop Japanese cyclists,” Yonamine told Global Peloton in 2023.
“We have no opportunity to go into Europe, there’s no support, it's up to them,” she added.
JCL Team UKYO looks well placed to play a role in changing the fortunes of cycling in Japan, and could be come a breeding ground for the next generation of Japanese stars.
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