Team Meiji - Fuji | 2012
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:46
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World Champion
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Meiji Fuji Cycling Team HQ
Towards the end of last season there were rumors about a brand new cycling team based in Japan. Those rumors have now become news as today it is with my pleasure that I announce the formation of Team Meiji-Fuji. 3 Days ago we were accepted into the Continetal Tour of the Man-Game. There were many speculations as to who would sponsor this Japanese team, but I can proudly announce that Meiji a food company in Japan and Fuji the major bike company based in the USA have signed on for the season. The manager has also stated that the team will try to focus on signing Japanese riders and riders from area's like China, Malaysia and other area's of Asia.
With it being our first year in the Conti Tour we dont expect to dominate, but we believe that in the next 5 years we can make it to the Pro Tour and the Tour de France.
Main Sponsors:
- Meiji
- Fuji Bikes
Minor Sponsors
- Pasmo
- Suica
Equipment Sponsors
- Fuji
- Uvex
- Shimano
Edited by valverde321 on 20-11-2011 16:36
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:46
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World Champion
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Joined: 20-05-2009
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Meiji was founded in 1916. Its main headquarters are in Japan. This company produces food. It is mostly known as a candy company because of its large amount of chocolate bars and candies, and are one of the major chocolate companies in Japan. They also provide medicine however, not something most North American food manufacturers like Nestle can say.
The Fuji Bikes Corporation was founded in 1899, named after Mount Fuji which is a symbol of strength and endurance. It makes sense that the company is still running, thanks to the endurance that Fuji can give to them. The headquarters are based in the USA, but the inspiration to keep them going is 12,000 miles away.
Pasmo is a smart-card, which doesn't require any contact with machines when making a purchase. It is mainly used in transportation area's like Shinkansen terminals and also for bus fare, but inside the train stations, there are specialy marked stores, where you can use the card.
Suica was started in 2001. It is also similar to Pasmo in that it can be used like a Pasmo without making contact, but the money can also be transferred to your phone thru an app and all you have to do is walk thru the ticket gate with your phone and it will automatically pay your fees. Suica is used in the Kanto region, and can be used in most train stations or shinkansen stations to buy tickets. It is a pay as you go card. The character is a penguin and is seen all over in ads and posters. He is a very popular character in Japan for only being in tv commercials and posters.
Edited by valverde321 on 25-03-2011 12:22
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:47
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
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-Even Mario Cipollini himself is in awe of this jersey.
National Champion Shirts:
Thank Maximka, for making this amazing shirt.
Edited by valverde321 on 05-07-2011 18:38
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:48
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World Champion
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| Chen | Shikai | 165,000 | | Tomohiro | Hayakawa | €50,000 | | Fumiyuki | Beppu | €55,000 | | Yukiya | Arashiro | €135,000 | | Sung Baek | Park | €60,000 | | Taiji | Nishitani | €75,000 | | Junya | Sano | €65,000 | | Kenji | Itami | €55,000 | | Yoshimitsu | Hiratsuka | €55,000 | | Yukihiro | Doi | €55,000 | | Junpei | Murakami | €50,000 | | Sergei | Lagutin | €50,000 | | Genki | Yamamoto | €55,000 | | Jai | Crawford | €50,000 | | Jack | Bauer | €200,000 | | Matthew | Lloyd | €320,000 | | Masaaki | Kikuchi | 50,000 | | Takashi | Miyazawa | €50,000 | | Yuzuru | Suzuki | €50,000 | | Ho-Ting | Kwok | €50,000 | | Anuar | Manan | €50,000 | | Ryota | Nishizono | €50,000 |
Loans:
| Cheng | Ji | €50,000 | Outgoing | | Yaun | Wei | €50,000 | Incoming | | Tom | Scully | €25,000 | Incoming |
Stagiare's:
| Hiroyuki | Fukata | €10,000 |
Edited by valverde321 on 05-07-2011 02:14
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:48
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Top 5: Asia Tour Team Rankings
Top 5: Japan Cup
Win: Tour of Taihu
Top 10: Tour of Taiwan
Top 5: Tour of Japan
Edited by valverde321 on 16-06-2011 00:44
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:51
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-03-2011 19:52
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Reserved |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 30-03-2011 16:27
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World Champion
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Team News #1: Transfer Rumours
Over the past week or so, speculation as to who will sign who, has grown. With much speculation being done for the larger European teams, Meiji has been able to hide some of these rumours from the media. Not many Japanese cyclists are talented enough to ride for a pro cycling team so speculation is that Meiji's manager has been in talks with riders already under contract to other teams.
There is speculation from Yahoo Japan that Meiji are interested in contracted riders like Fumiyuki Beppu, Kazuo Inoue, and Yukihiro Doi. Another report from the Sports Nippon newspaper says that if the team were able to sign Arashiro it would be a dream come true for Japanese cycling fans. But according to yet another report, Jayco-Red Bull the current team of Arashiro seem reluctant to sell Arashiro.
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valverde321 |
Posted on 02-04-2011 02:20
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World Champion
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Last night the race calendar for this season was announced. Meiji have been able to plan our goals for the season with the use of the calendar and have come to settle on these goals:
1. The team wants to do well in Asia as the team will be an all-asian team so a Top 5 Team Ranking in the Asia Tour is the goal. It would be awesome to win the Asia Tour Rankings but the team dont think its possible with teams out there with larger budgets than us.
2. The team wants a Top 5 at the Tour of Japan, which is the biggest Japanese stage race of the season. The last 3 years the race was won by foreigners, but this season we hope to break that spell of bad luck. Its not likely that we can win the race, but like we said we want to try, so a Top 5 is a safe bet.
3. Our third goal is the Tour of Taihu a Chinese sprinters classic. We want to win this race. It is a hilly circuit, but it will probably come down to a sprint, and since its no secret that asia has some very strong sprinters, we hope to sign a few of them to help us with this goal.
4. Our fourth goal is a Top 10 at the Tour of Taiwan. It is a long stage race with flat, hilly and mountainous stages. We haven't shortlisted too many climbers as of yet so thats why we only went for a Top 10.
5. And last but not least we want to have a Top 5 finish at the Japan Cup. The largest race in Japan and so we want to represent in our home country.
The team has also targeted a few other races throughout the season in which we also want to perform well at. These races are, Tour de Langkawi, Mumbai Cyclothon #1, Tour de Delhi, Philly International and the Presidential Tour of Turkey.
Some of you may be wondering why we'd target a race in North America if the team will be based in Japan. The answer is because our bike manufacturers, Fuji have Headquarters in Philadelphia so we want to show them they chose the right team to sponsor. Other than that the targeted races should make sense.
*The team goals may be subject to change if the forms that were handed in were incorrectly filled out. |
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viking90 |
Posted on 02-04-2011 18:27
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I like how you go Asia all the way! Hope it will be a good season for you. Good luck! |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 03-04-2011 01:24
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
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viking90 wrote:
I like how you go Asia all the way! Hope it will be a good season for you. Good luck!
Thanks! I'm looking forward to the season very much! |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 03-04-2011 02:24
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
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Team News #3: More Transfer News!
Since the team goals were made public two days ago the largest broadcasting station has shown interest in this new cycling project. This station is known as Nippon Hoso Kyokai or NHK.
This is an exclusive feature for the team as NHK doesn't usually focus on sports. They only follow Sumo wrestling, the Olympics, High-School Baseball and Boston Red Socks games when Daisuke Matsuzaka pitches, but according to this NHK will now also televise races which take part in Japan and China.
In other news the team Manager of Meiji was seen on an Air China flight heading to Beijing. Its possible he's scouting for future riders but only a few names were given. Wen Hao Li who is a strong time-trialer, Yaun Wei a strong rider and Haijun Ma a very strong time-trialer and possible lead-out man.
Obviously the team wants to focus on Japanese riders but signing riders from neighbouring countries is inevitable, because there really aren't more than about 15-20 Japanese cyclists that can ride at this level.
________
Yeah, I was very bored tonight so I hope you enjoyed this. |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 10-04-2011 01:33
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
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Team News #4: Team Equipment & Accessories
This year the team have decided to ride on Fuji frames. The choice was obvious since Fuji is a co-sponsor of the team. We have also decided to ride with Uvex helmets because they were willing to give us some good deals and some testing sessions in a wind tunnel they use for their helmets. The team will also be riding with Shimao Dura Ace C75 wheels for the road, and the Pro Disk for TTs.
This is what the final template looks like but obviously with a team of no riders as of yet its a little hard to show training camp photo's:
It should be mentioned that the team purposely went with a color for the bike slightly different than the jersey in hopes that it will stand out more. Now we just have to submit this to the UCI so that we will be allowed to ride with this setup for the year.
We would like to thank KenL a Canadian graphics artist who has worked well with the Canadian manager of the team in creating the perfect frame for the year.
We would also like to thank BoogieBoogie the graphic artist who helped in making our teams helmet for the season, and we think it looks pretty amazing. |
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roturn |
Posted on 10-04-2011 10:39
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Team Manager
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Really a nice bike and a nice shirt. Your set will be very unique in these colours I think. |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 10-04-2011 14:20
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
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Thanks roturn. I'm very happy with the way Maximka produced my team's jersey, and then the equipment to match that is amazing. And thanks for the feedback.
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valverde321 |
Posted on 17-06-2011 05:01
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
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Team News #5: CT HC Race Selections
Today, we found out our HC racing schedule for this year after it was released by SportingNonsense the Head of Operations in the Man Game. (If that info is false or somewhat untrue I'd appreciate it, if you told me) These races will be very important for us, if we want to make a name for ourselves and help introduce cycling in Japan to hopefully gain a larger fanbase.
Tour de San Luis - This is a tough week long stage race located in Argentina. Its not a team goal but it would be nice to get a good result at this race.
Le Tour de Langkawi - This race is held a little closer to home, and just based on that alone, we would like to have a good result at this race. It is a mix of everything, and its a good place for a sprinter to get a couple wins.
Corsica International - Certainly the climbing wont compliment our projected squad but a flat and TT stage will be nice, and there's a possibility of winning one, but the main goal is to show everyone that Asian cycling is on the rise.
Bayern Rundfahrt - This could be a race that favours strong sprinters who can TT, or it could go to a breakaway rider lucky enough to gain large amounts of time in one stage.
Giro del Capo - Maybe its not the best suited race for sprinters but it does help our goal of racing on every continent this season. This should be a very exciting race.
Tour of Britain - If we can sign a strong sprinter in the Transfer season, this race will play out great for us. This race is mostly compilled of flat stages so it could help us in the fight for promotion although we dont expect to be too high up in our first year of racing.
Circuit Franco-Belge - This is a race which should favour the sprinters and puncheurs. Of course its not in the greatest territory for us, but luckily we aren't in Belgium during Cobbles season.
MTN Cycling Classic - A tough hilly course here, but if no riders attack, its possible for a strong sprinter to survive and take the win, which is exactly what we will hope for.
Down Under Classic - Like I said earlier we wanted to race on every continent this year. As normal for Australia its also a fairly flat route, which would again favour a sprinter, or late attack.
ProRace Berlin - If you've noticed the theme by now, its that we want to orient the team around sprinters. That should pretty much explain this selection.
Philly International Championship - This race we chose to please our secondary sponsors Fuji, who have the companies main headquarters based in Philly.
Giro dell'Emelia - We thought we'd be risky and enter into a hilly race. It is in the late season though, so anything can happen.
Japan Cup - And finally the one, you've all been waiting for *que Michael Jordan entrance music* . This is the biggest one day of cycling for the team this season. We want to do very well in our home country, and we want to do well to gain more fans from Japan. I just hope we dont crack under the pressure.
So that pretty much wraps it up. Oyasumi nasai and sayonara.
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valverde321 |
Posted on 23-06-2011 14:48
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
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It is with great pleasure that we can announce to you, the first signings in Meiji-Fuji history. Today it was confirmed that our two biggest goals for the Transfer period, Yukiya Arashiro, and his friend Fumiyuki Beppu, will be joining the team for the 2012 season. This is great news for both the team and the Country because the two biggest stars are now on our team. It does seem we overpayed slightly on the transfer fee now that we look at it, but it was going to happen to one of the new managers, but we'll learn from it for the future. We also have to thank Smowz, Manager of Jayco-Red Bull for allowing the deal to take place in the first place.
In other news we have sent offers to various riders from Japan and China and one to a Russian and two to Australians. Obviously we would like to keep the team all Asian, but Meiji has told us we can sign up to 4 riders from neighbouring countries in order to ensure we have a competitive squad for the season. And with the main weakness of Climbing for Japanese riders, thats what we seek from those other countries.
Hopefully this has been a good Transfer Season for all other teams so far, and good luck for the remainder of it.
Edited by valverde321 on 23-06-2011 14:54
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ANFreeman |
Posted on 23-06-2011 14:51
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Well done on getting your transfer targets
[url=https://pcmdaily.com/messages.php?msg_send=19438]-Requests for Man-Game 2014 jerseys are OPEN!
Click to request!-[/url]
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ember |
Posted on 23-06-2011 14:54
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Congratulations on getting your two main targets for the transfer season, well done! |
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valverde321 |
Posted on 24-06-2011 02:14
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World Champion
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Spoiler Thanks everyone, Im very happy we could sign them both.
Team News #7: 7 More Signings
With 48 hours passing on winning bids for these riders we have confirmed to have signed 7 more riders for next season bringing the total up to 9 riders already. The 7 riders are, Tomohiro Hayakawa, a young promising sprinter who should learn a lot this season behind some of our veterans.
The second rider is Sung Baek Park (pictured), a Korean sprinter who will likely be our best sprinter this year (78 SPR, 77 ACC, and 70 Flat) and will look to ride in some of the bigger races and hopefully gain us some CT points.
The third rider is Taiji Nishitani, a Japanese sprinter who should be lead sprinter in any race that is without S.B.P or Arashiro. Taiji is a nice addition because he gives us depth at the sprinters position.
The fourth rider joining the team will be Junya Sano, the Japanese climber. He's known for having the fastest time up Mt. Fuji, ever (fictional stat) which really shows how much better of a climber he is than all other Japanese cyclists.
Fifth joining our team is Kenji Itami. He's seen as a decent sprinter who still hasn't developed into what everyone had hoped, but we see potential in him and he already was a pretty good sprinter so that made the deal even easier.
The sixth rider we signed was Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka. He is 24 years old but he is still expected to improve, and he has proven to be a good climber already. We hope he can develop into someone that maybe one day can climb Mt. Fuji faster than Sano.
And last but not least for today we have Genki Yamamoto, who will learn under our big 3 sprinters this season so that hopefully in a season or two he will be winning sprint stages himself.
All of these signings were very cheap and S.B.P was especially cheap considering how strong he is but I guess because of where he is from he was "skipped" so instead he took a smaller contract, along with the others. All in all this hometown discount for most of these riders has come in handy and we can now spend it on other riders whom we wouldnt have been able to afford earlier.
Thank you and the Squad section should be updated shortly.
Edited by valverde321 on 24-06-2011 02:40
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