Two Japanese Riders Complete the Tour de France

[Mulboyne]

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Dutch TV but Beppu is interviewed in English

DPA: Contador, Armstrong, Japanese winners of Tour de France
Among the many winners of this year's Tour de France, an argument could be made that the race's biggest winners finished 112th and 130th in the standings. But when Fumiyuki Beppu and Yukiya Arashiro return to their native Japan they will no doubt be welcomed as heroes, because they are the first riders from their country ever to have finished the Tour de France. Before this year only two Japanese riders - Kisso Kamawuro, in 1926 and 1927, and Daisuke Imanaka, in 1996 - rode in the Tour de France, but neither made it to the Champs Elysees in Paris. Beppu and Arashiro both placed in the top 10 in several stages and lured thousands of their compatriots to travel to France to watch the closing stages. "Our good results motivated us," Beppu told the daily L'Equipe. "When I suffer in the mountains I think of (Arashiro) and tell myself, I can't give up because both of us have to finish."

[IkemenTommy]

Good job, nippon. 112 and 130th places!

[maraboutslim]

It's not really about the final placing - after all, they both finished higher overall than Mark Cavendish who won 6 stages. Beppu and Arashiro both did really well. They worked for their teammates, and also got up front on a few stages, contested the sprints, etc.

That was pretty funny when Beppu said how nervous he was when Armstrong rode near him, not wanting to crash and be responsible for taking him down.

[Coligny]

It's not really about the final placing - after all, they both finished higher overall than Mark Cavendish who won 6 stages. Beppu and Arashiro both did really well. They worked for their teammates, and also got up front on a few stages, contested the sprints, etc.

That was pretty funny when Beppu said how nervous he was when Armstrong rode near him, not wanting to crash and be responsible for taking him down.

Japanese or not, finishing the tour de france is quite a feat... all those years on mamachari paid of it seems...

[Greji]

Japanese or not, finishing the tour de france is quite a feat... all those years on mamachari paid of it seems...

Hey Coligny, you were the home team, I thought I would see you up front in the yellow for a couple of stages with your geared-up mamachari!

[Coligny]

Hey Coligny, you were the home team, I thought I would see you up front in the yellow for a couple of stages with your geared-up mamachari!

I wuz disqualified, they say that electric mamachari were considered as cheating...

[IkemenTommy]

I wuz disqualified, they say that electric mamachari were considered as cheating...

Bicycle events are always borderline iffy because certain gears, frame composite materials, and other equipment give competitive advantage. Such venues like keirin need to stay as for entertainment value and not a "sport" event.