Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Mayuko Hagiwara won the Silver Medal in the Asian Cycling Championships Time Trial at the Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, on Saturday. The ten-time Japanese Champion completed the 32.7km course – made up of three laps of a mostly-flat 11km circuit – in a time of 46 minutes, 32 seconds, which was just 30 seconds slower than Gold Medallist Na Ahreum of Korea, but more than a minute clear of Mongolia’s Enkhjargal Tuvshinjargal in third place.
“I am a bit disappointed with the Silver Medal in the Asian TT champs,” Hagiwara said. “Because I have many advantages over the winner, Na Ahreum, the Korean rider. She had crashed at the beginning of the race, but she still had a 30 second gap over my time. It means that she was stronger than me.
“I did the best I could at the moment, but I couldn’t win,” the Japanese champion added. “It means that I have a lot of work to do.”
Earlier in the Asian Championships, Hagiwara took tenth place in the road race which, since it was run on a city circuit on Wednesday evening, was effectively a ‘nocturne-style’ criterium. Despite the flat course, and the conditions, not suiting Hagiwara and the Japanese team, she finished the race in the lead group of eleven.
“We couldn’t do a good road race,” she said. “We couldn’t win the Asian title for a long time, so we need to find out what effort we should do for win.”
“Asian races are still very different to European races,” Hagiwara explained. “But it is very difficult win on Asia too. The Win is always difficult, and I have to keep going to try to win.
A rider doesn’t like to lose; it is not fun.”
Having completed the Asian Championships, Hagiwara will travel to Europe to rejoin her Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling teammates for her third season in the black and orange team.
“I really appreciate that I could race the 2015 Asian Championships,” she said. “Because I already have very good preparation at the beginning of season.
“I would like to ride a good season in 2015 after this Asians race.”
Result Asian Championship Time Trial
1. Na Ahreum (Korea)
2. Mayuko Hagiwara (Japan)
3. Enkhjargal Tuvshinjargal (Mongolia)
