The winners of the Velo d'Or will be announced on the 5th of December in Paris and this Wednesday we've gotten to know the men and women nominated for the award. Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Demi Vollering are all amongst the list of contenders for the award.
Men's Velo d'Or
João Almeida
Isaac del Toro
Tadej Pogacar
Ben Healy
Tim Merlier
Remco Evenepoel
Mads Pedersen
Mathieu van der Poel
Jonas Vingegaard
Simon Yates
Isaac del Toro
Tadej Pogacar
Ben Healy
Tim Merlier
Remco Evenepoel
Mads Pedersen
Mathieu van der Poel
Jonas Vingegaard
Simon Yates
Tadej Pogacar has won this award back in 2021, and last year he was completely unmatched. There is no argument that this year the Slovenian will be the winner of the Velo d'Or once again.
On paper it is a competition for second place, which can be between the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo), Jonas Vingegaard (2nd Tour de France and Vuelta a España winner), Remco Evenepoel (world and time trial World Champion) and potentially Isaac del Toro, second at the Giro d'Italia but winner of 16 pro races this year.
Giro winner Simon Yates is also present on this list, Tim Merlier has been rated the top sprinter as he is the only pure specialist on the list, whilst João Almeida, Ben Healy and Mads Pedersen are also in the run.
Women's Velo d'Or
Marianne Vos
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Kim Le Court
Elisa Longo Borghini
Katarzyna Niewiadoma
Puck Pieterse
Demi Volllering
Lorena Wiebes
Mischa Bredewold
Marlen Reusser
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Kim Le Court
Elisa Longo Borghini
Katarzyna Niewiadoma
Puck Pieterse
Demi Volllering
Lorena Wiebes
Mischa Bredewold
Marlen Reusser
On the women's side we should have a tighter battle, although the list does not include the world champion Magdeleine Vallieres surprisingly. The battle for the win should be between Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the Tour de France Femmes and Paris-Roubaix Femmes; Lorena Wiebes who is the new Gravel World Champion and by far biggest winner of the year; Marlen Reusser who has won several stage-races, the World and European time trial Championships; And Demi Vollering who has been consistent all year long and is amongst others the winner of Strade Bianche Donne, Vuelta Femenina and the European Championships.
Marianne Vos, Kim Le Court, Giro Donne winner Elisa Longo Borghini, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Puck Pieterse and Mischa Bredewold are also in the run for the top spots.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is the big favourite to win the women's Velo d'Or. @Imago
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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