Jonas Vingegaard and Mark Cavendish set to race at Tour de France Singapore Criterium

Jonas Vingegaard will return to racing with one event later this year. On October 30, the Danish Tour de France champion will participate in the Tour de France Singapore Criterium. 

There were initial question marks over when he would next appear in action, with his Jumbo-Visma team admitting that winning the Tour de France left the Dane needing time out of the spotlight. However the 25-year-old has now been confirmed for the late October criterium alongside reigning British national road race champion, Mark Cavendish. 

The Jumbo-Visma rider hasn’t raced since the final stage of the Tour de France in July and has since missed the Tour of Denmark as well as a place in the Danish team for the World Championships in September. It was then announced on Wednesday morning that Vingegaard will be part of a group of 32 riders participating at the race in Singapore. 

A circuit race in Singapore is terrain where Vingegaard would be unlikely to win, although his yellow jersey as Tour de France winner makes him an essential part of the occasion. 

When plans for the Singapore criterium were announced earlier this year, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said, “The Tour de France Criterium is a cycling performance, showcasing the speed and intensity of cycling through a race on an inner-city circuit.”

He added, “The Criterium format allows us to bring an adaptation of the Tour to more places, while still retaining the essence and spirit of the Tour de France with top riders in the heart of the city. With the Tour de France Criterium, cycling becomes a cultural bridge, celebrating the Tour de France atmosphere in territories the race has not yet explored.”

Alongside top WorldTour stars like Cavendish and Vingegaard, a team from the Singapore Cycling Federation will also be present.

Similar Tour de France associated exhibition events have been organised around the world previously. These have included events in Shanghai, China and the Saitama Criterium in Japan. 

Last year a Giro d’Italia criterium was also organised in Dubai on November 6. The 30-lap circuit race was headlined by 2021 overall winner Egan Bernal alongside Peter Sagan and other top cycling stars.