Poll & Discussion - Who should be the Top3 of the 2026 Velo d'Or? Pogacar, Vingegaard, van der Poel, Van Aert, Seixas...

The 10 nominees for the men's Velo d'Or have been revealed this Thursday. Tadej Pogacar is the main favourite to win the award once again, but who will finish next to him on the podium? Share your opinion below on our poll.

The list includes no surprise names, with Tadej Pogacar headlining a ten-men list which includes his teammates Isaac del Toro (winner of the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and GP de Montréal) and World Champion Brandon McNulty.

The other two monument winners - Paris-Roubaix (Wout Van Aert) and Il Lombardia (Paul Seixas) - are also present on the list; as is the case with the winners of the Giro d'Italia (Jonas Vingegaard) and Vuelta a España (Enric Mas).

The list features Mathieu van der Poel and Felix Gall as well, two riders who did not manage to take major victories this year in their main objectives, but raced at the highest level and achieved several top results.

Ahead of the results, which are set to be revealed on the 28th November, several members of the CyclingUpToDate team have shared their opinion.

On the men's side, Tadej Pogacar will be given the Velo d'Or once again. Whilst it would be fun to speculate, I don't think a single cycling fan carries any doubt - although I'm sure there will be at least one or two votes for a different rider to take maximum points, for unclear reasons.

Yes, Pogacar's season ended on a bad note, which prevented him from continuing to make history. But the writing is on the wall. His fifth Tour de France win appeared the most comfortable out of all in his palmarès, and next year he should become the new record holder with six.

Outside the Tour... Winning Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Liége-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse. The UAE rider is simply racing where he wants, and there are only one or two races a year where he is actually challenged.

The second place to be is a bit open. I wouldn't put Wout Van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel, despite both showing their absolute best level. Enric Mas has thrived at La Vuelta and gotten a much deserved victory, but he and Felix Gall have gotten their career-best results out of intelligent calendar choices, not as much due to being superior to the competition. Brandon McNulty's world championships win also confirms his quality as a classics specialist, but of course that is the one race that has put him on the list.

That leaves me with only four riders: Remco Evenepoel, Paul Seixas, Jonas Vingegaard and Isaac del Toro to fill up the second and third place. And it's tight, I can't say it's clear to me who will feature on both positions.

Jonas Vingegaard did not have luck on his side. He has Giro d'Italia, Volta a Catalunya and Paris-Nice overall wins added to his palmarès, and I recon he would finish on the podium of the Tour if he were to finish it. But he does not have that result added. He might deserve that second place, but the Tour's DNF raises fair questions.

Remco Evenepoel has won the time trial world title, European road race title, Clásica San Sebastián, Amstel Gold Race, GP de Québec, two stages and second at the Tour de France... He was always consistent and a quality rider throughout the year but he simply did not have the legs in the final months of the year. With late 2025 legs he would've won more and sealed himself a second place without a shadow of a doubt, right now not a certainty.

Paul Seixas won Il Lombardia, and rode really well over the year. He's proven himself, no doubt, both in the classics and Grand Tours as a challenger to anyone in the peloton. But he's lacked those big wins aside from Lombardia. He wasn't asked to do more, but I think in raw numbers, it doesn't reach the other three.

Isaac del Toro does, in my opinion, challenge Evenepoel and Vingegaard. But I'm putting him in position four, behind Evenepoel (second) and Vingegaard (third). GC wins at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Tirreno-Adriatico and UAE Tour; GP de Montréal victory; third at the Tour de France with a stage win and white jersey... Major credentials. If he had performed at his best and conquered Il Lombardia, the podium was his.

In the women's competition what I am frankly more surprised - or rather, shocked - with is the initial selection. Whereas in the men's field winning one big race makes a rider's season and gets riders on the board for a selection - we can see that with Brandon McNulty - that is apparently not the case for the women's field.

The absence of Milano-Sanremo Donne winner Lotte Kopecky; and Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner Franziska Koch, is astounding. Not just that, but the entire Top5 of both monuments is completely absent from the list, which makes me think of whether those who selected the 10 riders have even seen the races throughout the entire season.

The victory, in my opinion, is fairly going to be attributed to DemI Vollering. I admit I had my doubts on her ability to win Grand Tours again whilst watching the early stages of the Giro Donne where she appeared unable to make the difference in the longer climbs- and turning more into an Evenepoel-style classics specialist - but I was strongly proven wrong.

A top climber, but the most explosive and complete out of all the climber's in the women's peloton. She has won monuments in the Ardennes and cobbles; the Giro Donne, the Tour de France Femmes in style; and then left no crumbs to her rivals as she went on to dominate both World and European Championships. A new 'cannibal' as we hadn't seen since the years of Annemiek van Vleuten.

The podium, like the men's field, is rather open in my opinion. Marlen Reusser has won in the classics, in the stage-races, the world and European time trial titles, and so I think she is worthy of being on the podium.

In my opinion she should share it with Lorena Wiebes, who has perhaps not succeeded in every one of her goals, but has won so much throughout the season, has won big, and has maintained her status as the most dominant figure in modern cycling's sprinting field. She would deserve second place just as much as Reusser, despite not having conquered the same amount of titles.

In my view, the men’s Velo d’Or seems all but destined for Tadej Pogačar, while the women’s category features a very strong case for Demi Vollering—though there is more room for debate there. In both categories, there are major names, but also some notable omissions that particularly stand out.

On the men’s side, it is hard to find a rival capable of challenging Pogačar for the award. His season has been extraordinary in terms of both the volume and quality of his victories, including the Tour de France and several major one-day races, such as Milano-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The injury that prevented him from finishing the year as planned should not weigh too heavily against such an impressive list of achievements. Furthermore, the inclusion of La Vuelta winner Enric Mas among the ten nominees is a significant acknowledgment of his season, especially given his return to prominence in a Grand Tour.

The battle for the other spots on the podium alongside Pogačar is likely much more open. Jonas Vingegaard presents a very compelling case, following his victories at the Giro d’Italia, Paris-Nice, and the Volta a Catalunya, while Evenepoel has once again demonstrated his versatility.

Paul Seixas also deserves attention, having made a massive leap forward and secured top-tier results in major classics. World champion Brandon McNulty and Paris-Roubaix winner Wout Van Aert also boast strong credentials. As for Mathieu Van der Poel, his inclusion makes sense, even if his performance during the cobbled classics fell short of his primary goals.

In the women’s category, Vollering’s candidacy is hard to dispute, following her wins at the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, alongside her world and European championship titles. Nevertheless, Marlen Reusser and Paula Blasi also have very strong arguments. The Swiss rider has enjoyed an extraordinary season—particularly in time trials—while the Spaniard secured a highly prestigious victory at La Vuelta Femenina and also triumphed at the Amstel Gold Race. His nomination also serves as recognition of the leap forward he has made during 2026.

In my view, the men’s Top3 should be: Tadej Pogacar, Enric Mas and Jonas Vingegaard. The women’s Top3 would be: Demi Vollering, Paula Blasi and Marlen Reusser.

When I look at the list of nominees for the 2026 Vélo d’Or, I have to say I’m disappointed to see that, once again, it’s more or less the group of riders many of us expected. I understand the selection of these names, but at the same time I don’t understand why some riders are still being left out. They have worked just as hard throughout the year, taken important wins in important races, and some have even won general classifications.

It frustrates me a little to see names like Paul Magnier, who had 15 wins this year; or Tim Merlier, who had 14. Jonathan Milan and Matthew Brennan had 12 each. These are riders who train just as hard as the others. They may not be able to climb as well, but they still deserve recognition. In my view, there is a lot of work behind winning stages throughout the year.

So, once again, I look at this list and don’t see the peloton’s leading sprinters, especially in the men’s peloton. And I see names that, however much people might want them there, are less important in my opinion.

It just doesn’t make sense to me. Take Felix Gall, for example: he had two wins this year, one of them a general classification. Did he make a bigger impression than Magnier, Merlier or Milan? I’m sure he didn’t. But that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, let’s look at the names they’ve put forward. There’s no doubt that Tadej Pogacar is the favourite, even though he crashed in Spain and his season ended early. His 22 wins say everything about the Slovenian rider’s superiority. He’s the clear favourite to win the Velo d’Or, and he has no real rival.

As for the other podium places, honestly, if we look at the season as a whole, Vingegaard deserves second place. The third spot, the lowest step on the podium, will be a close contest, in my view, between Isaac Del Toro and Remco Evenepoel, without overlooking the others. They were among the riders who provided the most excitement and won the most, and ultimately, they deserve the recognition.

As much as I’d like to put Del Toro on the podium, I think his consistent season, winning the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, puts him in contention for that third place. It was certainly a very consistent season. He also finished on the Tour de France podium. If I’m being fair and judging the whole season, he’s the rider who impressed me the most.

As for the others, I think Mathieu Van der Poel was a little below expectations. Wout Van Aert won Paris-Roubaix, and Paul Seixas made a strong impression. He had eight wins this year, too. If Brandon McNulty hadn’t become world champion, he might not even be on the list; his season was fairly much what you’d expect.

Then there’s Movistar’s Spaniard, Enric Mas, who won the Vuelta a España decisively after Pogacar abandoned. I think Mas was the strongest rider in the race, but I don’t see him as a serious contender for the top places in this award, even after winning a Grand Tour.

He finished the season well, but let’s remember that the press was quite hard on him after he fell short of expectations at the Giro. I think he’s on this list because he won the Vuelta. And, to be fair, after Pogacar left, the Vuelta was a very close race, with a tight fight for the overall win and the podium places. Mas came out on top.

As for the women’s peloton, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Demi Vollering will take home the trophy. But let me ask: can someone explain what names like Antonia Niedermaier and Niewiadoma are doing on this list? Let’s take Niedermaier out and put in Franziska Koch, who won Paris-Roubaix. We could take Niewiadoma out and put in Lotte Kopecky who won Milano-Sanremo.

I’m only suggesting those two changes because it’s hard for me to understand why Niedermaier is on the list when she had no wins this year. And even looking at Juliette Berthet; sorry, she won the Faun Tour Femmes. Fine. But which is more important: the Faun Tour Femmes or Paris-Roubaix? She has three wins, one of them the overall classification.

I don’t really understand the thinking behind these selections. I don’t agree with a lot of the names on this list. Anna van der Breggen, for example, had two wins this year. Surely Kopecky or Koch deserved to be on the list more than Van der Breggen.

But I’m not the one choosing. They are. These are the names they’ve put forward, and I don’t agree with them at all. For me, the podium will be Vollering first, Wiebes second; and notice, we’ll have a sprinter on the women’s podium, something we don’t see among the men’s nominees, which is shameful.

I think Paula Blasi will complete the podium. She won the Volta a Catalunya, Amstel Gold Race Ladies, the Tour des Pyrénées and the Vuelta Femenina, and I believe she had seven wins this year. It would be a deserved result. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kim Le Court up there too, nipping at Blasi’s heels, or even Marlen Reusser, who also had a very good year.

But, as I’ve said, that’s my opinion. I think it will be Vollering, Wiebes and, quite possibly, Paula Blasi.