Key points:
The third edition of the Singapore Criterium, scheduled for 10 November, will go down in history as the final professional race to feature Mark Cavendish. The record holder for the most Tour de France stage wins will line up alongside his rivals from last July, including Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen.
A special guest, the Italian Vincenzo Nibali, will pin on a race number once again in Singapore, joining the peloton a decade after his Tour de France triumph, as he lines up alongside Chris Froome and Primoz Roglic in the TdF Legends team.
There it is – his final challenge! After 18 seasons in the professional ranks, Mark Cavendish managed to beat Eddy Merckx’s record as the most prolific Tour de France stage hunter ever, claiming his 35th career victory in the finale at Saint-Vulbas. His 2024 racing calendar concludes with the Singapore event, which will also be the final race of his career. A born winner, the British rider will hold nothing in reserve, but he faces serious rivals in this climactic sprint. In the mad dash to the line, Cav will have to contend with the raw power of the 2024 green jersey, Biniam Girmay, as well as the Eritrean’s predecessor, Jasper Philipsen, who happens to be the reigning champion in Singapore.
Cavendish’s record-breaking feat, one of the highlights of the last Tour de France, was followed by other standout performances, such as Anthony Turgis’s victory at the end of the spectacular gravel road stage to Troyes, where the Team TotalEnergies rider put his tactical nous to good use to secure his maiden win in the Grande Boucle. Another shrewd tactician and powerful rider stormed to victory in Barcelonnette, where Victor Campenaerts, earning the 2023 combativity award, was rewarded for his persistence, clinching his first Tour stage win in 2024. Other riders did not achieve the desired result but won over the audience with their panache. Uno-X Mobility’s Jonas Abrahamsen and Tobias Johannessen unleashed a rolling barrage of attacks, as did the Belgian champion, Arnaud De Lie. They will all get another chance to shine on the circuit in Singapore. The TdF Legends team brings together riders with 15 Grand Tour victories between them. Chris Froome, the most decorated, with seven triumphs to his name, will team up in this special event with Primoz Roglic, winner of four Vueltas and one Giro, while Vincenzo Nibali, with four Grand Tours to his credit, will return to action for a reunion with his former rivals.
Main contenders:
Anthony Turgis and Matteo Vercher (Team TotalEnergies); Jonas Abrahamsen, Tobias Johannessen and Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility); Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek); Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty); Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team); Arnaud De Lie, Victor Campenaerts and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny); Jasper Philipsen and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck); Chris Froome, Primoz Roglic, Vincenzo Nibali and Yukiya Arashiro (TdF Legends)