Looking back at each season, we can look through a variety of rankings to discern the top riders of the year. We hardly need the UCI rankings to point out that Tadej Pogačar was the men’s rider of the year, while Pauline Ferrand-Prévot comes out on top in the women’s peloton.
The Velo d’Or prize ceremony will put any arguments there to rest, while we already know that Lorena Wiebes won the most races in the sport in 2025 with 25 triumphs to Pogačar’s 20.
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep)
It’s a close-run thing for our top sprinter of 2025, but in the end, we’ve gone with Tim Merlier, who has the most top-level sprint wins from any of the riders on our list with 16 last season, including eight at WorldTour level.
Merlier has excelled throughout the season in 2025, picking up wins in the spring, summer, and autumn, with two wins at the Tour de France – both coming directly against his main sprint rival – the highlight of his year.
He beat Jonathan Milan twice in head-to-head match-ups in France and twice more at the UAE Tour, also adding two stage wins apiece at Paris-Nice and the Renewi Tour to his total.
Elsewhere, his tally of 16 victories was bolstered by triumphs against the likes of Juan Sebastian Molano, Dylan Groenewegen, and Olav Kooij at the AlUla Tour, Baloise Belgium Tour, and Tour of Holland. Scheldeprijs was another crowning victory, where Merlier beat Jasper Philipsen at the ‘Sprinter’s Classic’.
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan has hit his…
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