Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked solo to win the 2025 Tour de France Saitama Criterium to close out a successful season in which he finished runner-up at the Tour and won the Vuelta a España.
Vingegaard had created a late attacking move alongside Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), but accelerated to go alone to the line with two kilometres left to race.
Roglič was caught by the chasing group as Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) came through for second after his win in Singapore the week prior. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finished in third place.
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Vingegaard was fortunate to go unscathed after a crash in the mid-part of the race. The 28-year-old crossed wheels with the rider in front of him with the peloton stretched out, but was able to get straight back on his bike.
“I just slipped, I came in a little too fast and lost control,” Vingegaard said afterwards. “But I wasn’t hurt anywhere, so I was able to get back on quickly.”
"It was a good day, a great victory, a great way to end the season," he added.
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The riders took to the start indoors(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton rounds a 180-degree turn at the top of the course(Image credit: Getty Images)
Local rider Raimu Aso on the attack(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primož Roglič in the bunch(Image credit: Getty Images)
Roglič and Vingegaard made a decisive late move(Image credit: Getty Images)
Vingegaard looks back to watch the sprint unfold(Image credit: Getty Images)
Vingegaard, Milan and Groves on the podium(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tour de France stars head to Japan
Several stars of the 2025 Tour de France made the annual trip east to the Tour de France Saitama Criterium in Japan, alongside a number of local riders and others from the WorldTour.
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The route took the riders on a 3.5km loop of the city of Saitama, with long straight sections and a couple of short hills to negotiate. The riders would cover 17 laps with a total distance of 59.5km.
A number of attacks rolled off the front of the bunch before being caught, but the decisive move was made in the 15th lap. Vingegaard and Roglič accelerated away alongside Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility).
With five kilometres to go, Vingegaard attacked the group, followed by Roglič. The pair worked together until Vingegaard decided to go solo with two kilometres left. The two-time Tour de France winner kept his lead all the way to the line.
Behind, Roglič was caught as Lidl-Trek set up the sprint for Milan, who was second as Groves completed the podium.
Earlier in the day, a short three-rider team time trial was contested over the same course, with Lidl-Trek coming home as winners.
Dan is a freelance cycling journalist who has written for Cyclingnews since 2023 alongside other work with Cycling Weekly, Rouleur and Escape Collective. Dan focuses much of his work on professional cycling beyond its traditional European heartlands and writes a regular Substack called Global Peloton.
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