Vélo d'Or
| Vélo d'Or | |
|---|---|
| Location | France |
| Presented by | Vélo Magazine |
| First award | 1992 |
| Current holders | Tadej Pogačar (3rd award) Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (1st award) |
| Most awards | Alberto Contador (4 awards) |
The Vélo d'Or (French for "Golden Bicycle") is an annual cycle racing award, given to the cyclist considered to have performed the best over the racing season. It is awarded by the French cycling magazine Vélo Magazine, with the winner chosen by a panel of international cycling journalists.[1] The Vélo d'Or is considered one of cycling's highest individual honors, similar to the Ballon d'Or in football.[2]
Since 2022, the Vélo d'Or Femmes has also been awarded to the best female cyclist of the season.[3] Both trophies are presented each year at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris, alongside several sub-categories: the Eddy Merckx Trophy, awarded to the best classics rider since 2023, the Chris Hoy Trophy, awarded to the best Olympics discipline rider since 2024.[2][4] There are also awards for French riders: from 1992 to 2022, the Vélo d'Or français was given to the best overall French cyclist. Since 2025, this has been subdivided into two awards: the "Trophée Bernard Hinault" for male cyclists and the "Trophée Jeannie Longo" for female cyclists.[5]
Alberto Contador holds the record for the most awards, winning the Vélo d'Or four times: in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014. Lance Armstrong initially won the Vélo d'Or five times, but these victories were nullified after the USADA stripped him of his Tour de France titles following doping allegations and his eventual confession. The Vélo d'Or awards for these years were not reassigned to the runners-up.[6]
Men's awards
Vélo d'Or winners
Wins per rider
| Rank | Rider | Wins | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Christopher Froome (GBR) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Miguel Indurain (ESP) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Paolo Bettini (ITA) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Peter Sagan (SVK) | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 8 | Tony Rominger (SUI) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jan Ullrich (GER) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Primož Roglič (SLO) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12 | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Boonen (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Remco Evenepoel (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15 | Marco Pantani (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 17 | Johan Museeuw (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Cipollini (ITA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Erik Zabel (GER) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 23 | Wout van Aert (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 25 | Mark Cavendish (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Maurizio Fondriest (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bjarne Riis (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Michele Bartoli (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Damiano Cunego (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Cadel Evans (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tom Dumoulin (NED) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Geraint Thomas (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Egan Bernal (COL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 34 | Claudio Chiappucci (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Evgueni Berzin (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Abraham Olano (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Alex Zülle (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Lance Armstrong (USA) | 1 | |||
| Andreï Tchmil (BEL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Erik Dekker (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Óscar Freire (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Danilo Di Luca (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Carlos Sastre (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Andy Schleck (LUX) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Fabio Aru (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Nairo Quintana (COL) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Eddy Merckx Trophy (best classics rider)
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | Remco Evenepoel (BEL) |
| 2024 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | Jasper Philipsen (BEL) |
| 2025 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | Remco Evenepoel (BEL) |
Wins per rider
| Rank | Rider | Wins | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Remco Evenepoel (BEL) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Jasper Philipsen (BEL) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Women's awards
Vélo d'Or Femmes winners
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) |
| 2023 | Demi Vollering (NED) | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) |
| 2024 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | Demi Vollering (NED) | Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) |
| 2025 | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | Demi Vollering (NED) | Lorena Wiebes (NED) |
Wins per rider
| Rank | Rider | Wins | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Demi Vollering (NED) | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 4 | Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lorena Wiebes (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Eddy Merckx Trophy (best classics rider)
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | Demi Vollering (NED) | Alison Jackson (CAN) |
| 2024 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) | Marianne Vos (NED) |
| 2025 | Lorena Wiebes (NED) | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | Demi Vollering (NED) |
Wins per rider
| Rank | Rider | Wins | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Lorena Wiebes (NED) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Demi Vollering (NED) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | Marianne Vos (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alison Jackson (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Additional awards
Chris Hoy Trophy
The Chris Hoy Trophy is awarded to the best cyclist across the various Olympic cycling disciplines.
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Harrie Lavreysen (NED) | Ellesse Andrews (NZL) | Joris Daudet (FRA) |
Gino Mäder Prize
The Gino Mäder Prize honors rider's social commitment. It is named after cyclist Gino Mäder, who raised money and frequently spoke in support of humanitarian and environmental causes, before dying in 2023 after a crash at the Tour de Suisse.[10]
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Luis Angel Mate (SPA) |
| 2025 | Matteo Trentin (ITA) |
References
- ^ Hood, Andrew (15 October 2024). "Ranking the Best of 2024: Who Gets Your Vote for the Vélo d'Or Prize?". Velo. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Vélo d'Or 2024: the ceremony rewarding the best cyclists returns to Paris". Sortir a Paris. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Fletcher, Patrick (1 December 2022). "Annemiek van Vleuten, Remco Evenepoel win 2022 Velo d'Or awards". CyclingNews. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "La toute première cérémonie du Vélo d'Or aura lieu le 24 octobre". L'Équipe. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "Pogacar, Ferrand-Prévôt, Léauté... Le palmarès complet du Vélo d'Or 2025". L'Équipe (in French). 5 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
- ^ "Armstrong : tout doit disparaître". Europe 1 (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Armstrong's results have been removed by Velo magazine due to evidence of performance enhancing drug use.
- ^ "Alejandro Valverde élu Vélo d'or 2018, Thibaut Pinot est le Vélo d'or français". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Julian Alaphilippe élu Vélo d'or 2019". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "Vélo d'Or create new Gino Mäder prize honouring riders' social commitment". CyclingNews. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.