THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 20, 2023 at 17:47 JST
Cyclists kick off the 2022 Tour de Hokkaido bicycle road race. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
SAPPORO—Police are investigating the death of a cyclist in a head-on collision with a car during the Tour de Hokkaido bicycle road race, one of the largest cycling events in Japan.
A security lapse apparently allowed the vehicle to enter the road, which was supposed to be closed to ordinary traffic for the race.
“We offer our sincere apologies for a terrible accident,” Takayuki Yamamoto, director of the Tour de Hokkaido Association, told a news conference here on Sept. 19.
He said the association is still investigating the cause of the accident and the safety management system for the event.
Kota Ikarashi, 21, a student at Tokyo’s Chuo University, died when he was hit by the car running in the opposite lane at a curve with poor visibility in Kami-Furano, Hokkaido, on the morning of Sept. 8, according to police.
The event was immediately discontinued. About 100 cyclists were competing in the three-day race scheduled through Sept. 10, covering 532 kilometers on Japan’s northernmost main island.
The prefectural road has one lane each way, and cyclists were told to stay in the left lane, where traffic was regulated by police.
Event organizers were in charge of controlling traffic in the opposite lane.
The car was driven by a 63-year-old man from Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
The vehicle apparently entered the course before the road was temporarily closed off and had been parked near the accident site, according to investigative sources.
Yamamoto said the association had told cyclists to stick to the left lane in advance.
“We thought that no vehicle would come from the opposite direction because the lane was closed to ordinary vehicles,” he said. “We did everything we could for safety measures.”
The fatal accident was the first crash involving a motor vehicle in the history of the Tour de Hokkaido, which started in 1987. The event is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union.
(This article was written by Akimitsu Ishigaki and Kohei Uwabo.)
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