SOPHIE HURCOM

Deputy Editor

BEST MALE RIDER

Egan Bernal rode with a level of maturity far beyond his 22 years as his wins in the Tour, Paris- Nice and Suisse attest. That he continued to ride on, at a competitive level through to Lombardy, where he finished third, when many Tour riders wind down post-July, says a lot about his attitude too.

BEST FEMALE RIDER

Marianne Vos’s imperious form was like the clock had wound back a few years to when the Dutchwoman was the unbeatable best.

WHO ELSE IMPRESSED?

Thibuat Pinot, Mathieu van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel, Lorena Wiebes and Lizzie Deignan.

BEST ONE- DAY RACE

I enjoyed the unexpectedness of ParisRoubaix. A Deceuninck rider might have won, so maybe it wasn’t that surprising a result, but no one rider came into the race having dominated the spring, and that was fascinating to watch play out.

BEST STAGE RACE

The Tour de France. A genuine to-the-wire GC battle; interesting, engaging storylines and characters. The only thing we’re still left to wonder is what more could have been if those final two stages hadn’t been wiped out by the weather.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Jumbo-Visma are now a bona fide superpower having dominated across the board in grand tours and sprints, while Trek-Segafredo's women’s team lived up to blockbuster expectations by winning 20 races in their inaugural year.

UP-AND- COMING RIDER

The Dutch talent train never stops: see Demi Vollering. Age 22 and in her debut season, she finished in the top 10 at all Ardennes classics, including third at Liège, was fifth at the Women’s Tour and then won Giro dell’Emilia. Could be their next big star.

MEMORY OF THE YEAR

Few riders can surely look as relaxed as Alaphilippe did while wearing the maillot jaune. I watched as he sat down after one Tour stage to do an interview and nonchalantly perched his feet on a barrier, as if wearing cycling’s iconic jersey was the most normal thing.