The 10th edition of Tour de France J:COM Saitama Criterium ended with an atypical sprint won by Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), the green jersey of the last Tour de France. In the final, the attack of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) was wiped out by the return of the peloton, but the winner of The Return managed to insert himself between the Eritrean and the man with 35 steps, Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), which completes the podium.
Video – The summary of this 2024 Saitama Criterium
All the stars rewarded
In the history of the Japanese event presented as a “22nd stage of the Tour”, the winners list welcomes an African rider for the first time. The green jersey at stake on the 3.6 kilometer urban circuit was won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). After having played his last Tour de France in July, Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) leaves Japan with the polka dot jersey as in 2019. Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech), who like him was there during the first edition in 2013, was rewarded for his temperament with the combativeness prize.
