Germany's Marcel Kittel won a sprint finish ahead of Slovakia's Peter Sagan and Alexander Kristoff on Saturday to claim the Criterium de Saitama in Japan.
The 60km race around a 3km street circuit is held by Tour de France organisers ASO, who last year took the bold leap into a new market with the first event outside France to carry the Tour's prestigious name.
The "Criterium de Saitama by La Tour de France", to give it its full title, is aimed at attracting Japanese investment in the Tour while boosting the profile of road cycling in the Asian country.
Last year's initial race was taken out by Britain's 2013 Tour de France winner Chris Froome in front of 200,000 spectators.
Share
