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Tour De France Singapore Criterium
Dear friends, did any of you attend the Tour De France Criterium Singapore held on the 29-30th October? I am not into cycling but I totally enjoyed photographing the event. This event is one of the many key sporting events to happen in Singapore. Never have I imagined one fine day, I can just drive 20min from my house and then proceed to photograph world-class cyclists whizzing past me. To catch the actual race in France would mean a 14 hours flight from Singapore.
What is the Tour De France Criterium?
The Tour de France is the pinnacle of professional cycling – watched by over a billion viewers annually. Elite cyclists compete in a grueling test as they cover an average of 3,500 kilometers over three weeks in their quest for sporting glory. In contrast, the Criterium is a shorter race on a closed circuit, which makes the format more suited to Singapore streets.
Shots from Day #2 of Criterium Singapore
The event organiser imported their customized BMW R1200RT bike which is modified with special generators for the heavy VHF wireless cameras. The bike has a more favourable gearbox ratio to enable speeds as slow as 8km/h in third gear without touching the clutch. Their recording is beamed “live” to worldwide audiences.Jonas Vingegaard (25-year-old Danish) – Reigning Tour De France champion. Winner of the inaugural Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium – 1:19:47 on the 3.2km (20 laps).Skoda Auto is the Tour de France’s official partner and vehicle partner since 2004, providing about 250 vehicles for the Tour fleet annually that comprises, most notably, of ŠKODA OCTAVIA Combi and ŠKODA SUPERB models. Their history began 125 years ago and they have never entirely left it out since.When you catch a glimpse of ‘Velvet Red’ on the road, you know that a stage is about to start. You can’t miss the ŠKODA SUPERB with its characteristic cap visor-like attachment and custom Le Tour and ŠKODA decals.Spectators line the streetside to cheer the cyclists around the bend at Raffles Avenue and Nicoll Highway.In the modern era, winning riders usually average around 40kph. In 2021, Tadej Pogačaraveraged 41.2 km/h on his way to victory and became the second-fastest winner ever.A criterium is a shorter race where riders race on a pre-determined number of laps for 30 to 90 minutes around a closed circuit. The length of each lap ranges from 800m to 10km. The Singapore Criterium sees pro racers doing 20 laps around a 3.2km circuit. The winner is the first to cross the finish line at the end of the 20 laps.
Conclusion
I hope the event will return next year and for more world-class events to land on our shore. In Singapore, expect the unexpected. Many sincere thanks for coming along with the article on the Tour De France Singapore Criterium 2022. For event updates, you can check out my curated articles here.
The pictures used in the article are all rights reserved and copyrighted to Jensen Chua Photography. The opinion expressed is factual, objective, and that of the author.
