The green jersey triumvirate reigned supreme at the Tour de France Singapore Criterium, as a thrilling sprint around the final bend and down the 150m straight saw reigning green jersey holder Jonathan Milan pip his predecessor, Biniam Girmay, to the line of the 25-lap course. 2023 winner Jasper Philipsen took third after finishing second last time out.
Acknowledging the dominance of the trio in the sprints, Girmay, who improved on his fourth-placed finish in 2024, was satisfied to be on the podium but could not dull the sting of the narrow defeat.
“It’s nice to be on the podium with these two guys who, in recent times, have dominated the sprints – the podium was made up of the green jersey winners of the past three years. But for me, I have come second many times, and I am really bored of that, but it is what it is, and the sprint is not easy, especially on this course,” the Eritrean said, admitting he had gone a tad early in the final spurt, allowing Milan to pass him in the final 20 metres.
Interestingly, the rain-lashed circuit offered Milan respite from the trademark muggy conditions of the Singapore race.
“I was not expecting this weather… Sometimes the rain can influence the race, but the roads were good and clean, so I was able to ride really well,” the Italian said. “The team did a really good job, we had a few attacks… and they positioned me perfectly for the final sprint.”
Milan’s triumph on his Singapore debut ensured a fourth different name on the winners’ roll since the criterium’s 2022 debut, joining an elite list featuring two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, Philipsen and retired sprint great Mark Cavendish, who returned to the Republic as the event’s ambassador.
His Lidl–Trek outfit also clinched the team honours.
The race seemed wide open right up to the final laps, and as the bell rang out, Irishman Ben Healy made an ambitious attack to break away from the five-man leading group, taking the outright lead as he started on his last lap.
The newly minted world championship road race bronze medallist was 15 seconds ahead of the peloton with one kilometre to go, but was quickly reeled in by those same pursuers as he went past the Fullerton.
Having sustained a tyre puncture on the slick tarmac in the opening stages, Healy did not leave empty-handed as he was rewarded for his combative displays with the Most Active Rider gong.
“It was a really nice race, and I almost made it to the line, but it’s a nice consolation prize. I had a go in the last lap and was leading for a bit, but the riders behind were too strong,” he said, coming off the back of a “dream season”, where he was the first Irishman in 38 years to wear the maillot jaune after stage 10 of the Tour.
Just like the Singapore Criterium, the Tour’s green jersey winners have not been able to carve out successive wins since Slovak Peter Sagan in 2019, and the talent on show on Sunday (Nov 2) offered further proof of the stiff competition, with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Jordi Meeus also pushing the trio all the way to the finish.
The season concludes next Sunday (Nov 9) with the Saitama Criterium in Japan, promising another exciting preview of the sprint battles to come at the 2026 Tour.
On the growing rivalry amongst the three and other outside contenders for the maillot vert, Philipsen, who held it for two stages after an opening win at Lille, said, “It’s a high-competition sport and we try to be our best possible to fight for the green jersey. It’s very important, and next year we will go again, and hopefully we will get a stage win again.”
