Twenty victories, three monuments, two more major classic wins, the Tour de France, and two international titles: Tadej Pogacar can once again look back on an exceptionally successful season. For L'Équipe, this was reason enough to crown the Slovenian the 'champion of champions.'
Pogacar scored 821 points in the voting, which was enough to surpass the famous pole vaulter Armand Duplantis (who became world champion this year and broke the world record multiple times again) and Spanish top tennis player Carlos Alcaraz (winner of Roland Garros, US Open, and the world number 1).
Finally, a prize that makes sense. 👍🏻 Tadej Pogacar was elected by L'Equipe as "champion of champions" in 2025. He put Ukrainian disc-thrower Duplantis in his place. pic.twitter.com/fLAxxainRk
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) December 29, 2025
This is certainly not the first award Pogacar has won. The UAE Emirates XRG rider recently received the Vélo d'Or for the third time, the prestigious prize from the French Vélo Magazine.
Pogacar is now back in training looking ahead to the new cycling season. The current world champion starts relatively late and calmly in 2026. His first race is Strade Bianche, and after that, he will only focus on the classics until the end of April, with Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on his schedule.
After the classics, the 27-year-old rider will set his sights on stage races. In preparation for the Tour de France—his big main goal for the summer—he will compete in two 'new' races: the Tour of Romandie and the Tour of
