SINGAPORE – Some of the world’s elite cyclists who gathered in Singapore for the weekend had expected the 2025 Tour de France EFGH Singapore Criterium to be a battle under high heat and heavy humidity.
But on Nov 2, there was a late twist as the heat made way for pouring rain and cool weather in the late afternoon, about 1½ hours before proceedings.
Amid the rain trickling down, it was Italy’s Jonathan Milan who turned up the heat on the wet road as he edged out Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen in a thrilling sprint finish between the past three Green Jersey winners.
Milan is the fourth different victor here in as many editions, while Girmay was runner-up and Philipsen, who won the Singapore race in 2023 and was runner-up in 2024, finished third.
Milan said that the weather was a surprise as all the riders had talked about how it was going to be a race held in sweltering conditions, adding that this made for a more difficult race.
“I’m really happy to have won here… it’s my first time racing in Singapore, so it feels really special to take the victory,” said the 25-year-old, who secured two stage wins in the 2025 Tour de France, and sealed the coveted green jersey in July to become the first Italian to claim the points classification since Alessandro Petacchi in 2010.
“I have to say that I was not expecting this weather. The last couple of days were pretty hot, but today for the first hour of the race it was raining a lot and that can sometimes influence the race.
“But the road was pretty good and it was clean and I was able to ride really well on the bike.”
The pouring rain, which was accompanied by thunder and lightning in the area, had forced the day’s earlier team time trial – scheduled on the same 2.4km city circuit – to be cancelled.
