Slovenia's cycling superstar wins Velo d'Or for third time

Slovenian cycling ace Tadej Pogačar has won the men's Velo d'Or for the third time in his career after claiming a fourth Tour de France title this summer.

He also received the Eddy Merckx award for the top classics rider, having won three of the sport's five Monuments this season, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The 27-year-old won both of the awards for the second time in a row as he also dominated the 2024 season.

This is his third Velo d'Or (Golden Bicycle), meaning he is now tied with the Brit Chris Froome in second place in the all-time ranking. Spain's Alberto Contador tops the ranking, having been honoured with the prize four times during his career.

Pogi - as Pogačar is known to his fans - did not attend the awards ceremony in Paris on 5 December because he was feeling a bit unwell, but he did address the event via a pre-recorded video, saying he was honoured and happy to have received the award again.

"But unfortunately I was not feeling well enough to travel there to celebrate this moment with everybody there. I'm really disappointed to miss out on it. Thank you all for your support and see you soon," he said.

His manager Alex Carera accepted the Velo d'Or on his behalf, saying that Pogačar will aim to win it again next year and attend the ceremony in person.

Accepting the Eddy Merckx award on his behalf was Andrej Hauptman, sports director for Pogačar's team UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Asked about the reasons for the Slovenian's versatility and overall dominance, he said Pogačar "has the body and physique for the Grand Tours, but mentally he is more aggressive, more of a one-day racer".

Awarded by the French cycling magazine Velo Magazine, the men's Velo d'Or has been given out since 1992. The winner is chosen by a panel of international cycling journalists.

In addition to this year and last year, Pogačar also received the prestigious accolade in 2021.

He has had a sensational season this year, having bagged 20 victories in total, including defending the world champion title and claiming the European champion title. Displaying his versatility yet again, he also became the first rider to podium at all five Monuments in one season on top of achieving other historic feats.

His goal for 2026 is a record-equalling fifth Tour de France crown and an attempt to add the two Monuments missing from his palmares - Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix. The Monuments are considered the most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling.

The women's Velo d'Or, a prize introduced in 2022, went to French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, which was also not surprising given that she won this year's Tour de France Femmes and Paris-Roubaix.

Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA