{"id":250811,"date":"2025-11-08T07:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T07:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/250811\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T07:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T07:24:11","slug":"well-probably-see-vingegaard-dressed-up-as-a-sumo-wrestler-or-a-karate-fighter-visma-leader-expected-to-embrace-japanese-culture-during-saitama-criterium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/250811\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019ll probably see Vingegaard dressed up as a sumo wrestler or a karate fighter\u201d \u2013 Visma leader expected to embrace Japanese culture during Saitama Criterium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> will close out his 2025 season in style this weekend, swapping the rigours of Grand Tour racing for the spectacle of the Saitama Criterium<\/a> in Japan \u2014 an event as much about entertainment as it is about cycling.<\/p>\n

The two-time Tour de France winner has travelled to Tokyo with his family for the showpiece race, which annually draws some of the sport\u2019s biggest names for a festival of sport, culture and fanfare.<\/p>\n

Eurosport commentator Anders Mielke expects the Danish star to throw himself into the spirit of the occasion. \u201cWe\u2019ll probably see Vingegaard dressed up as a sumo wrestler or a karate fighter \u2014 that\u2019s all part of the show,\u201d Mielke said. \u201cIt\u2019s the deal you accept when you\u2019re paid to take part.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nSeason finale with a showtime twist<\/p>\n

Though the Saitama Criterium carries no UCI points, it regularly features major riders from the Tour de France peloton. Among others, Vingegaard will line up against former teammate Primoz Roglic, now with Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, and Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek.<\/p>\n

Eurosport pundit Brian Holm<\/a> says the spectacle makes sense for all involved \u2014 even if it\u2019s far removed from the competitive intensity of Europe\u2019s classics.\u201cIt\u2019s an event designed to make cycling more popular in Japan,\u201d Holm explained to Ekstra Bladet<\/a>. \u201cI imagine there\u2019s a decent pot of money involved. It\u2019s not Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders \u2014 the sporting value is more like an old six-day race.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Holm, the benefits go beyond the podium. \u201cYou have to think about the sponsors. Jonas rides a Cervelo, and events like this give visibility in a huge market. Some teams have had Japanese riders before \u2014 maybe not the biggest talents, but it\u2019s all part of the connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family trip to end a remarkable year<\/p>\n

After an intense campaign that saw him crowned Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a champion, Vingegaard will take a well-earned break once the curtain falls on Sunday\u2019s event. Speaking previously to Feltet.dk, he explained that the journey east also doubles as a family getaway.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about making a nice trip out of it,\u201d Vingegaard said. \u201cJapan is a fantastic country, so it\u2019s great to experience what it\u2019s like there \u2014 maybe even a bit beyond just Tokyo.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonas Vingegaard will close out his 2025 season in style this weekend, swapping the rigours of Grand Tour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-250811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}