During a ceremony in Paris this Friday, December 6, the 2024 Golden Bike trophies were awarded. Untouchable this season, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won the Vélo d'or trophy, rewarding the best cyclist of the year 2024, while Belgian Lotte Kopecky was crowned among the women. Romain Bardet was awarded the Bernard Hinault trophy for best French rider of the season. Pogacar and Kopecky also won the Eddy Merckx prize for best classic riders, according to the vote of an international jury of 40 specialist journalists.
Already awarded in 2021, Pogacar, who crushed the season with victories in the Tour de France, the Tour of Italy and the World Championships, succeeds the Dane Jonas Vingegaard on the list of this prize organized by Vélo Magazine and considered the most prestigious in cycling. Lotte Kopecky, who won the World Championships and Paris-Roubaix, is rewarded for the first time and succeeds the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering.
It was the second time that the Vélo d'or trophy, awarded every year since 1992 (2022 for women), was presented during a ceremony at the Gabriel Pavilion, on the Champs-Elysées, modeled on the Ballon gold in football. In total, nine trophies were awarded, in the presence of Pogacar.
Bardet, Ferrand-Prévot and Léauté rewarded on the French side
The Slovenian, thanks to his successes in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Lombardy, the Strade Bianche and the Worlds, also won the Eddy Merckx prize for best classics rider ahead of the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel who nevertheless won both Paved monuments this season with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
READ ALSO. POINT OF VIEW. Pogacar on the Tour de France, a circus in itself
Romain Bardet, who wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France after winning the first stage and who finished second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège behind Pogacar, was rewarded on the French side. The Daniel Morelon Prize for best French cyclist representing off-road Olympic sports (track, BMX and mountain biking) went to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Olympic mountain biking champion in Paris.
Its world equivalent, the Chris Hoy Prize, was awarded to the king of track speed, the Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen, three-time Olympic champion at the 2024 Olympics. The Trophy for the best French para-cyclist was awarded to Alexandre Léauté. Finally, the Gino Mäder Prize rewarding solidarity actions or societal causes named after the Swiss rider who died after a fall during the Tour de Suisse in 2023, was awarded to the Spaniard Luis Angel Maté.
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