Kennen we Atsushi Oka nog? Waarschijnlijk niet, daarom een opfriscursus.
quote:
Cyclingnews understands Oka and fellow Japanese rider Masahiro Ishigami have both been told that they are not part of Lannes’ initial plans for 2021, despite both having contracts for next year. Lannes’ frustration with the Japanese riders on the team appears to stem from the fact that Nippo has decided to leave at the end of this year and has been heavily linked with a sponsorship deal with EF Pro Cycling. The American team have already announced that current Nippo Delko One Provence rider Hideto Nakane will ride for them in 2021.
In a particular instance, Oka has sent a report to the UCI informing them that he was evicted from the team’s house in France with little notice and that he was threatened that if he stayed on the team in 2021 – even though he had a contract – he would receive no support and would only race four times during the year.
Lannes denied that there was a campaign against the Japanese riders on the team. However, he did admit that the Oka and Ishigami, in his opinion, were not good enough to ride the team’s race calendar in 2021, even though they both have contracts for next season.
"There is no sanction against the Japanese riders. There are still 2 Japanese riders in the staff in 2021, Atsushi Oka and Masahiro Ishigami. The staff and myself note that their level is insufficient to ride our calendar. I proposed to them to start a negotiation of breach of contract," Lannes wrote.
"If they wish to stay, with their 2020 level, they will have a minimum schedule, while remaining within the framework of the laws of the UCI. Yes Atsushi Oka will no longer be housed for free (we had an agreement with NIPPO for 2020) and we never told the rider that he would be housed for free again."
Cyclingnews has also seen Oka’s statement in relation to Lannes. In the short one-page document, the Japanese rider claims that he was "unjustly threatened by team owner Philippe Lannes".
The rider goes on to write: "On October 17th, Philippe Lannes told me: If you continue with my team, you only have 4 races in a next year. And we don't provide daily training, airline tickets, travel expenses, all support. He was very angry that this year's main sponsor NIPPO would not sign a 2021 contract.
"So he told me to get out because I'm Japanese. Finally, I lived in the team's house, so he yelled me to ‘get out now!’ Then he kicked me out. His actions are an outburst of anger and I don’t understand because I have nothing to do with it. Normally I have a contract for next year, so I will not revoke the 2021 contract. I ask for help."
Oka has since returned to Japan with no certainty over his future.
Een artikeltje van begin november. Sindsdien nooit meer iets vernomen over de heer Oka. Maar dat heeft een reden. Mijn scherpe oog viel al op een oranje kleurtje op de site van de UCI, dat is altijd een slecht signaal. Als een renner in het oranje wordt weergegeven heeft hij een voorlopige schorsing te pakken. Inmiddels is oranje rood geworden.
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Vergiftigd door Lannes? Een poging om in 2021 beter voor de dag te komen? Per ongeluk een pilletje van zijn vrouw gepakt? Onana vindt de laatste optie leuk, ik hoop op de eerste optie. Zou toch mooi zijn.
Korte schorsing wel, overigens. Maarja, alsnog. Sta je dan met je grote mond, over slecht behandeld te zijn. Lekker een positieve test meepakken, erg slim.