Reigning AbbottWMM Series Champion Catherine Debrunner is aiming to start the defense of her title in style in Tokyo this Sunday.
The Swiss star claimed her second consecutive wheelchair series crown with wins in London, Berlin, Chicago and the Paris Olympics last year.
It’s an earlier start than usual for the 29-year-old who has not raced in the Japanese capital before, but she will take to the start line with little indication of what shape she is in at this early point in the year.
“I have no big plan in my head,” she admitted, “It’s my first race in a long time and I’ve come from indoor training. I like to start fast though, I’m and looking forward to a great race with the other women. I’m ready to be in the lead and to pull for a fast race.”
Like Debrunner, American Susannah Scaroni also arrives in Japan with little exposure to the roads so far in 2025. The 2022 series champion has been cossetted away in her indoor University of Illinois training base and will be testing a new chair on Sunday.
“We will just have to respond to what happens in the race,” she said. “It’s a technical start and a very technical finish as well, so you need to be ready for that. Tokyo is a fast course.”
With the Europeans and Americans emerging from winter hibernation into the early spring light, it perhaps presents an opportunity for Australia’s Madison de Rozario. With a less strenuous travel schedule and coming from a summer of road work, the five-time Paralympian is well-placed to make an early mark in the series.
“I’ve been trialing some new things and made a lot of changes,” said De Rozario. “I don’t expect those changes to show up yet but I’m nervous and curious to see what comes of them.”
Manuela Schär will also feature strongly, having won here on three occasions.
With no Marcel Hug and the late withdrawal of Daniel Romanchuk, the men’s race will be an Asian shootout with Tomoki Suzuki and Ryota Yoshida carrying the hopes of the home nation.
They will be challenged by China’s Luo Xingchuan and South Korea’s Byunghoon Yoo.
Suzuki won last year’s edition and was second and third in the previous two races.
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