All the fun and games of the Saitama Criterium media day
Image 1 of 24
Chris Froome, Jonas Vingegaard, Vincenzo Nibali, and Alejandro Valverde join in the fun and games in Saitama(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Sepp Kuss checks out a gallery of Saitama Criterium art(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Kuss, Steven Kruijswijk, and Vingegaard with Yukiya Arashiro (Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
An interview for Vingegaard(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Bahrain rider Arashiro talks about the art on show(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
A local snack for Valverde, Nibali, and Marcel Kittel(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Didi the devil joins Valverde, Nibali, and Kittel(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Mark Cavendish, Jasper Philipsen, and Simon Geschke rode with local children(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Vingegaard with Yowamushi Pedal manga artist Wataru Watanabe(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Vingegaard talks in Saitama(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Chris Froome was also there on the media day(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Nibali and Valverde speak(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Vingegaard is ready for the games to begin(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Nibali in his Astana-themed headgear(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Froome donned a big silly hat for the games, too(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Valverde and Nibali show off their candy floss creations(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Froome's attempt was a little less solid(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Teamwork on stage during the Saitama Criterium media day(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Vingegaard tastes his creation(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Vingegaard and Froome hard at work(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Not quite a manga by Vingegaard(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Froome shows off his drawing(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
Valverde and Nibali look to have won the drawing contest(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
The veteran duo celebrate their team victory(Image credit: Kenta HaradaGetty Images)
After the Singapore Criterium last weekend, a host of Tour de France stars descended on Japan for the Saitama Criterium, with riders once again dipping their toes into the local culture.
Unlike the all-new Singapore leg, the Saitama Criterium – an exhibition event put on by Tour de France organisers ASO – has been running for several years, with the day before the 'race' given over to cultural interaction.
The riders have become sumo wrestlers, karate kids, and archers over the years, and the 2022 edition saw them dive into the chaotic world of Japanese game show television.
2022 Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard was joined by four-time winner Chris Froome in 'Team Maillot Jaune', while 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali and 2015 podium finisher Alejandro Valverde, both recently retired, banded together as 'Team Legend'. All were dressed in kimonos and face masks.
Amid deafening dinging buzzers and customised hats with targets that sprang up and down, the teams were put through three rounds of competition. Vingegaard dominated the quiz round, correctly identifying various spinning Tour de France imagery to give his team a 4-0 lead.
However, the old-timers fought back in the candy floss-making round, Nibali's well-structured effort earning him hearty applause from the crowd. It went down to a self-portrait contest, and once again Nibali stole the show with a genuinely impressive effort, while the others were met with ridicule.
Somehow - and you could see the scepticism in Vingegaard's eyes - the scores totted up to 13-4 in favour of the 'Legends'. "Experience prevailed in the end," Nibali quipped, to the crowd's delight.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
You can flick through all the photos of the day's activities – which also included a trip to the local markets with Marcel Kittel and rides with children with Mark Cavendish – in the gallery above.
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
