At the end of a season that some will describe as breathtaking while others will say rather disappointing, marked by the sometimes excessive domination of exceptional runners, it's time to elect, like every season, the golden bike. If the winner of this prize often seems obvious, it’s the complete opposite this year: we can indeed bring out a few names that could legitimately win the coveted prize. Nevertheless, two names mainly stand out: those of Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van der Poel, who both shone, in their own ways.
Pogacar et Van der Poel, great favorites
The Slovenian, first of all, won two monuments: the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Lombardy. But he also shone in Flandrian races, winning the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne.. His victory over Paris-Nice is not to be forgotten either as he dominated the competition, just like his top 5 south Milan San-Remo. Finally, he finished second in the Tour de France, winning two stages, and third in the world championships. It was therefore, throughout the season, a model of regularity. However, only problem, its priority objective, the tour of France, finished behind Jonas Vingegaard and synonymous with disappointment.
Dutch, on the other hand, first shone on the cyclo-cross paths by being crowned world champion ahead of his eternal Belgian rival Wout Van Aert. Afterwards, he has won, him too, two monuments: Milan San-Remo et Paris-Roubaix, thus digesting his second place in the Ronde. But above all he was world champion on the road at the end of a masterfully conducted race during which he, despite a fall, disgusted his adversaries. There too, his strength in one-day races impressed. But if we had to look for a downside, we could mention its lack of regularity at times.
Behind, like a symbol, l'armada Jumbo-Visma
Behind these two names, other runners can and deserve to be mentioned. He confided in the microphone of the Colombian cycling federation, Primož Roglič, Giro winner, on the podium of the Vuelta and performing well in the majority of races in which he appeared.
His teammate, Jonas Vingegaard, overwhelming winner of the Tour de France and the Critérium du Dauphiné and second in a Vuelta that he could have won, he also impressed. But despite their more than successful seasons, it seems impossible to put them at the same stage as Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van der Poel.
From now on, time for votes and the least we can say, is that the suspense should remain intact until the day of the election of the new golden bike, the 24 next October.
