SINGAPORE – Anticipation is building up among cycling fans as Jasper Philipsen, Chris Froome and Sepp Kuss become the latest names to join a star-studded field set to compete at the upcoming Oct 28-29 Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium.
A full list of 28 international riders was announced by organisers on Thursday. The race’s second edition will take place along a 3km route that includes landmarks such as Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth, War Memorial Park, Esplanade and the Merlion.
Philipsen won the green jersey – worn by the rider leading the points classification which are awarded for intermediate sprints and stage finish – at 2023’s Tour de France. He will be joined in the Republic by Giulio Ciccone, who won the mountains classification at the same race.
The 2020 and 2021 Tour champion Tadej Pogacar, who claimed the white jersey (leading young rider) in 2023, had confirmed his attendance in July. This means three of the four classification winners of the 2023 Tour will be racing here.
Four-time Tour de France champion Froome, meanwhile, will also be competing in the street circuit alongside 2023 Vuelta a Espana winner Kuss and British great Mark Cavendish, who will be retiring at the end of the season.
The 2023 Tour champion and 2022’s Singapore winner Jonas Vingegaard was not included in the final list.
Froome, who finished second to the Dane here in 2022, is aiming to go one better. The 38-year-old said: “I had a great race in Singapore last year. It was a great experience for both the fans and the riders and I am looking forward to being back and going one better.”
One of his main threats will be the in-form Philipsen, who has 14 race wins this season. The 25-year-old Belgian said: “It is not every day that we get to race on a downtown circuit, so the Suntec City circuit will be an interesting one, with a lot of speed and power.
“It will be a treat for the fans and I can’t wait to take to the streets of Singapore.”
Besides the 28 overseas riders, the Singapore Criterium will feature three regional teams and the Singapore national squad.
The 2022 event, which featured 44 cyclists racing over 20 laps round the 3.2km circuit, had charged $220 for the men’s seniors and masters categories in the amateur criterium, but the fee has been waived this time round.
Agnes Goh, managing director of race organisers Evoke Exp, said they were “adamant” in bringing the race back and making it “bigger and better”. “It promises to be truly a sporting and entertainment spectacle,” she added.
Tickets for the Singapore Criterium, which will also feature a pre-event and post-event music festival headlined by Australian artiste DPR Ian and American musician and DJ KSHMR, are available at singaporecriterium.com
