Jonas Vingegaard staged a remarkable comeback from an early slip-off to win the Tour de France J:COM Saitama Criterium on Sunday, November 9, capping off a season that saw him defy the odds.
The 59.5-kilometre flat route had been set up for what spectators initially expected to be a dramatic battle of the sprinters like all the other criteriums.
But two-time TDF champion Vingegaard, who’s typically not considered a sprinter, held off other riders to snatch the victory in a stunning solo attack.
Back-to-best Vingegaard goes for victory
The Japanese teams upped the tempo right from the very start of the race, launching a breakaway that many riders scrambled to capitalise on, including Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal–Quick-Step and Dorian Godon of Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale.
Lidl–Trek’s Jonathan Milan, fresh from his win in the Singapore Criterium just last week, also raced for intermediate sprints between attacks, according to the criterium’s press release.
The wet race had been going smoothly until Vingegaard went down on the deck with 16 kilometres to go, losing time and seemingly dashing any hopes of a win.
The Dane, helped by UAE Team Emirates‑XRG’s Davide Stella, quickly went back to continue the race, eventually joining the breakaway with Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe’s Primož Roglič, UAE’s Tim Wellens and Uno-X Mobility’s Jonas Abrahamsen in the final laps.
That breakaway thinned out to allow for a showdown between Vingegaard and Roglič, who were once teammates in Visma–Lease a Bike before the Slovenian rider transferred to Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe in 2024.
But Vingegaard soon proved to be the man to beat after he dropped Roglič and launched a solo attack to secure the win.
Milan finished second while Kaden Groves of Alpecin–Deceuninck completed the podium.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Vingegaard said the slip forced him to adapt when it was clear he couldn’t follow his initial race plan.
“At first you only think about getting back to the bunch”, he said.
“Then there was an attack that I could follow, and then luckily I could go solo from there”.
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From crash to glory
He also sounded confident about his form, saying he was back to the same level he was at before a life-threatening crash in the Tour of the Basque Country last year.
The crash left him with a punctured lung, several broken bones, and a gruelling path to recovery.
After a not-so-stellar 2024, Vingegaard strove to bounce back this year, finishing second behind rival Tadej Pogacar at the TDF and winning the Vuelta a España for the first time just months after.
“You never really know when you have a bad crash like that if you will get back to the same level you had before”, Vingegaard said.
“It’s only by the end of this year that I can see that I’m able to push in the same way that I was before my crash”.
Japan sees rising interest in cycling
The Saitama Criterium gave Japanese fans a chance to see their favourite riders up close, including a friendly “Family Ride” where they could join professional cyclists for a lap around the circuit.
Riders were also treated to a slew of activities outside of riding, such as traditional Japanese painting, a self-portrait contest and other mini games.
This comes as cycling starts to garner rising interest in Japan.
Several amateur events for cyclists have popped up in the last couple of years, among them a six-hour endurance event in the Suzuka circuit and Mount Fuji’s very own climbing race, the Fuji Hill Climb.
Yukiya Arashiro, currently the last Japanese rider to have raced the Tour de France in 2017, also made an appearance as the criterium’s guest of honour, finishing ninth in the race.
He has participated in the criterium since its creation in 2013.
“The Tour de France J:COM Saitama Criterium has become an institution, and Japanese fans look forward to it every year with great excitement”, he said.
And while more people start to discover the allure of the sport, Arashiro remains hopeful for Japan’s next generation of cyclists.
“I hope to inspire young riders so that one day they can reach this level and take part in the Tour de France”, he said.
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