For Tadej Pogacar, 2025 will go down as an exceptionally successful cycling season, in which he claimed no fewer than nineteen victories as world champion. However, there is always a bigger boss, because in the 21st century, one rider won even more during his year as world champion: Tom Boonen.
It is important to note that we are looking here at victories achieved within a single calendar year. For Pogacar, this means all his wins in the year 2025. He started winning in February, with two stage wins and the overall title at the UAE Tour; in March, he took Strade Bianche, and April brought victories in the Tour of Flanders, the Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
After the spring classics, the count was already at nine. In June, four more wins followed (three stages and the overall at the Dauphiné), and in July five more (four stages and the overall at the Tour de France).
A now familiar sight: a victorious Pogacar - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
His next triumph came at the World Championships, where he soloed to defend his title in African Rwanda. However, we do not count this victory here, as it occurred while he was the outgoing champion and wearing the Slovenian national team jersey. After the Worlds, Pogacar put the finishing touches on his season with wins at the European Championships (this time in his rainbow jersey), Tre Valli Varesine, and the Tour of Lombardy.
Boonen won even more often as world champion
In 2025, the Slovenian scored nineteen victories in his rainbow jersey. Quite a number, but in the 21st century, Tom Boonen managed to win even more during his year as world champion. Tornado Tom claimed his world title twenty years ago, on September 25, 2005, in Madrid. He didn’t race any further professional races that season, but in 2006, wins followed one after another.
Boonen started the year right away with a victory in the Doha International GP, then won four stages and the overall in the Tour of Qatar, and shortly after also took the final stage of the Ruta del Sol. His haul in March and April included three stages in Paris-Nice, the E3 Prijs, the Tour of Flanders, and the Scheldeprijs.
Tom Boonen won, among others, the Tour of Flanders in 2006 - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
In May and June, the Belgian classics specialist and sprinter happily kept winning: two stages in the Tour of Belgium, Veenendaal-Veenendaal, and a stage in the Tour de Suisse. It was a great build-up to the Tour de France, but wins failed to materialize there. However, he would still manage to increase his total from seventeen victories to 21 in August and September by winning three stages in the Eneco Tour and one in the Tour of Britain.
We must add the caveat that Pogacar managed to achieve bigger victories during his year as world champion, including three Monuments, two additional major classic wins, and the Tour de France.
* Various statistics pages contradict each other regarding the number of wins by riders in the distant past. That is why we have limited this overview to the 21st century.
