Seixas and a rainbow jersey in the land of the rising sun

October 29 ^th 2026 - 04:52 [GMT + 9]

• The heroes of July are back for an encore, gathering in Japan for the 12th edition of the Saitama Criterium, which will take place on 15 November.

• Paul Seixas, who finished fourth in the Tour de France at the age of 19, shares top billing with American Brandon McNulty, crowned world champion just weeks after helping Tadej Pogacar claim his fifth yellow jersey.
• The peloton will also feature several Tour de France stage winners, including Michael Matthews, Oscar Rodriguez and Valentin Paret-Peintre.
• Torstein Traeen, a Norwegian rider of Japanese descent who wore the yellow jersey during the 2026 Tour, can expect a particularly warm welcome in the land of his ancestors. He may even rival Mark Cavendish in the applause stakes: the record holder for Tour de France stage wins, who triumphed in Saitama in 2017, will attend as an ambassador.

The event has become a fixture of the end-of-season calendar since its inaugural edition in 2013, held in the wake of the 100th Tour de France. In the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area, the people of Saitama have grown accustomed to welcoming a selection of riders who made headlines during the summer's Tour de France. They line up alongside some of Japan's most experienced teams on a 2.45 km urban circuit. The day's racing begins with a team time trial, followed by a 25-lap race in which Paul Seixas is certain to be one of the main attractions. The French rider achieved the remarkable feat of completing the Tour de France at just 19 years of age, and, more impressively still, played a leading role in the race before finishing fourth overall. In Japan, the Decathlon CMA-CGM leader is expected to go head-to-head with Brandon McNulty, who provided invaluable support to his teammates during the Tour before fully showcasing his own talent at the World Championships in Montreal. The man in the rainbow jersey has a taste for circuit racing. Consider yourselves warned!

Torstein Traeen had slipped into the yellow jersey almost unnoticed at the end of the stage to Foix, won by Mads Pedersen after a breakaway that the Uno-X rider had wisely joined. The Norwegian is unlikely to go unnoticed in Saitama, however, where Japanese fans have discovered a distant relative with roots in their own country. He will undoubtedly be keen to honour his family heritage, but he will face a formidable line-up of riders already accustomed to winning stages on the Tour de France. Australia's Michael Matthews has four stage victories to his name, while Dutchman Thymen Arensman claimed two mountain-stage wins in the 2025 edition, the same year that Valentin Paret-Peintre, another rider heading to Saitama, conquered the prestigious Mont Ventoux stage.

Riders invited to the Saitama Criterium:

XDS Astana: Haoyu Su, You Li (Chn), Davide Ballerini (Ita); Uno-X Mobility: Torstein Traeen, Fredrik Dversnes, Anders Skaarseth (Nor); UAE Emirates-XRG: Brandon McNulty (USA), Enea Sambinello (Ita), Daan Dijkman (Ned); Netcompany Ineos: Oscar Onley (Gbr), Thymen Arensman (Ned), Oscar Rodriguez (Esp); Jayco AlUla: Michael Matthews (Aus), Mauro Schmid (Sui), Dries De Pooter (Bel); Decathlon CMA-CGM: Paul Seixas, Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra), Rasmus Pedersen (Den); TDF Criterium special guests: Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn), Valentin Paret-Peintre, Emilien Jacquelin (Fra)