Tour de France Saitama Criterium has been organized annually by the ASO since 2013. Among the top riders taking part are Jonas Vingegaard, Mark Cavendish, Alejandro Valverde, and Vincenzo Nibali. The news was officially confirmed by the organisation in a press release.
Saitama criterium has hosted some big names such as Chris Froome, John Degenkolb, Mark Cavendish and Alejandro Valverde, who won the race. And this year is no different than the rest, The race will once again see big names in the cycling world like Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, one of the best sprinters in the world Mark Cavendish, great riders like Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde. This race will be special for Nibali and Valverde since it will be their last official race in japan before putting an end to their respective professional careers.
In addition to these names, the prestigious criterium features big names like Chris Froome, Guillaume Martin, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas, Geraint Thomas, and Jasper Philipsen. Yukiya Arashiro, the 2019 winner, will return as well.
The race will be held for the first time since 2019. The race will be on set on the closed circuit around Saitama-Shintoshin Station, at the centre of Saitama city.