There has been a wave of national championships lately, and one of many countries riding that wave is Japan. They organised their race in Millennium Park in Saku, and on the top of the podium, riding a 20″ bike, was Ryoga Tsuchiya standing for the second time of his career. The 22 year old has been training hard lately, and he’s clearly on the path to become one of the best competitions riders from Japan, and maybe in the world?
Bashguardian spoke to the newly crowned national champion about his preparations, the race, the sections and his future plans. Let’s dig in.
Ryoga Tsuchiya had prepared well for the 2021 Japanese trials championship, with a steady progress towards race day. But, the sections are not built by themselves, and he had to do some volunteering himself.
– I also participated in the preparation for several days. It was very hard!
Being back between the tapes, gave him such a joy that he nearly lost out to the title:
– The race was just fun. The joy of being able to compete made me so excited that I made a big crash in the first section, which I really regret. After that, I enjoyed [the] riding [and found] a good rhythm.
Ryoga is the new trials talent from Japan, taking up the baton after previous Japanese trials champions like Tomomi Nishikubo, Kazuki Terai and Ryuta Iizuka. And, thus building sections that are hard enough for Ryoga, and still possible for the rest of the riders, can be a challenge. And Ryoga is not holding anything back.
– The section were too easy for me. It may have been difficult for other Japanese riders. However, it felt unsatisfactory for me, who is at a high level. It can’t be helped, but I think Japan’s level needs to grow further.
When asked about his upcoming plans for his career, Ryoga is quick to reply:
– I will continue training to compete in the world cup and world championship finals.
Race results elite (20″ and 26″ combined):
1. Ryoga Tsuchiya (22), 20″, 540 points
2. Nagamasa Masuda (19), 20″, 440 points
3. Ryoya Ishihara (29), 26″, 330 points
4. Shunsuke Kamei (20), 20″, 290 points
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