POLL: Who delivered the Individual Performance of 2025? - Vote now for CyclingUpToDates End of Year Awards

In a season packed with drama, dominance, and defiance, a handful of riders still managed to stand out with performances that demanded replays. From long-range solo wins to perfectly timed strikes in the sport’s biggest races, these were the rides that defined 2025 – the ones that made you sit forward, yell at the screen, or shake your head in disbelief.

We’ve shortlisted eight unforgettable single-day efforts – either a Grand Tour stage or a one-day Classic – that lit up the season. So now it’s your turn: who delivered the most spectacular performance of 2025? Below in the CyclingUpToDate End of Year Awards!

This is what redemption looks like. On the same climb that shattered his Giro hopes in 2018, Simon Yates launched a sensational Stage 20 attack up the gravel slopes of the Colle delle Finestre. Down on GC and with everything to play for, he dropped Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz with 40 km still to race, then linked up with Wout van Aert in the valley to extend his lead. By the finish in Sestriere, Yates had snatched the maglia rosa and broken the race wide open. It was a dramatic, defiant ride – the kind that wins Grand Tours and settles old scores.

A world title defence for the ages. On a hilly circuit in Kigali, Pogacar attacked with over 100 km to go and rode clear on his own with 66 km remaining. He never looked back. Not Evenepoel, Ayuso or Del Toro could bring him back. Riding solo for more than two hours, Pogacar crossed the line over a minute clear of the chasers – rainbow bands retained, cycling world stunned. It was a long-range masterpiece, and arguably the most complete one-day ride of his already ridiculous career.

When you outfox both Tadej Pogacar and Filippo Ganna on the Via Roma, you’re doing something special. Van der Poel matched every one of Pogacar’s searing attacks on the Poggio, then chased down a dangerous Ganna move on the descent. With all three still together in the final kilometre, Van der Poel hit from distance – a 300m sprint that neither rival could answer. It was calculated, powerful, and ruthlessly effective. A second Milano–Sanremo title, won against the best in the world.

His third win in La Doyenne, but arguably the most brutal. Wearing the rainbow jersey, Pogacar attacked on the Côte de La Redoute with 35 km to go and simply vanished. No one could follow. By the time he reached Liège solo, he had over a minute on the chasers. This was Liège on lockdown: power, poise, and rainbow-backed dominance. If his Worlds win was long-range grit, this was pure demolition.

Final day fireworks. In a historic first, the Tour’s Paris finale included climbs up Montmartre and GC times were neutralised. That opened the door – and Van Aert barged straight through it. After Pogacar tested the legs on each ascent, Van Aert attacked over the top of the final Montmartre climb with 6 km to go. He held off the bunch and won solo on the Champs-Élysées in the rain. A stage usually reserved for the sprinters turned into a showpiece for the Belgian all-rounder – and his 10th career Tour win may have been his most spectacular.

A champion’s statement. On the queen stage of the Vuelta, Vingegaard put the race to bed with a devastating final climb up the Bola del Mundo. When João Almeida tried to test him, the Dane didn’t just follow – he countered hard and soloed to the summit finish. It was his third stage win of the race, sealing the red jersey with one day to spare. In the year’s most grueling Grand Tour finale, Vingegaard stood tallest.

Another band, another brutal win. In a rain-soaked finale on French roads, Pogacar lit up the European Championships, going clear solo from distance again. Despite the best efforts of the chasers – including Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas – he stayed away to win his first European title. It completed an outrageous double: rainbow jersey and European jersey, a week apart and half the world apart.

A Monument showdown for the ages. Van der Poel and Pogacar locked horns on the cobbles of Northern France, trading punches all the way to the Roubaix Velodrome. Pogacar attacked hard in the five-star sectors, but Van der Poel never cracked. Then, on the infamous Carrefour de l’Arbre, Van der Poel made his move – a searing acceleration that finally broke the World Champion. He soloed to the velodrome and his second Roubaix title. A heavyweight clash, settled by raw force. If Milano–Sanremo was surgical, this was savage.

These were the moments that made the 2025 season unforgettable – one rider, one day, total domination. But which performance deserves the title of Individual Performance of the Year?

Vote below – and check back next week to see who you crowned.