Who do you think is the best in the world right now? The winner of our 2026 International Rider of the Year award will be decided by you, the Cycling Weekly reader. Simply click the name of the rider you want to see crowned in our poll below.
Six riders have made the shortlist, all of whom have had exceptional seasons, even by their own, very high standards. Demi Vollering and Tadej Pogačar dominated, but this award isn’t simply about the number of wins a rider chalked up.
Other riders stepped up to the top of the sport in 2026, riding at a level they hadn’t reached before. Not just winning, but recording a season of results that saw them progress to a higher standard
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If you need reminding of what these riders achieved, simply scroll down to read a short summary of their season, and why we selected them.
Voting closes on 15 November, and the results will be revealed in the 3 December edition of Cycling Weekly
Demi Vollering
Despite being the de-facto race favourite every time she pinned on a number, Demi Vollering still had two major events missing from her palmares. The first of which, the Giro d’Italia was firmly in her sights even before the season started; the date change meant the Dutchwoman was confident in targeting that and the Tour de France. The second was the World Championships road race. Both were ticked off in a year where she proved almost unbeatable. Even if she didn’t dominate every race she was in, she won with an assuredness that is befitting of her status in the peloton. Her list of wins this season is nothing short of exceptional
Major results: Giro d’Italia, Tour de France Femmes, World Championship road race, Tour of Flanders, Fleche Wallonne Femmes, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, European Championships road race
UCI ranking: 1
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Belgian’s move to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe set the wheels in motion for his best season yet. Second place at the Tour de France, along with a TT and summit finish stage win, made up for last year’s disappointment, but what really impresses is his consistency. Third places at Flanders and Liège sandwiched his Amstel Gold win and more victories came after the Tour. It says alot that his ‘worst’ one-day result was 12. Unfortunately that was at the World Championships where he started as the favourite.
Major results: World Championships ITT, Amstel Gold Race, Tour of Valencia, European Championships road race, Tour de France 2nd,
UCI ranking: 2
Tadej Pogačar
A fifth Tour de France win meant the Slovenian joined the Tour greats this year, while the rest of his results have everyone saying what we’ve long thought, that he is already the greatest of all time. Of all the races he started this year, he ‘failed’ to win two. At Paris-Roubaix he was beaten in a sprint by Wout van Aert and at the Vuelta he was taken out by a rock in the road. On every other day, he was unbeatable.
Major results: Tour de France, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour of Flanders, Milan – San Remo, Strade Bianche
UCI ranking: 1
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Swiss rider’s record in time trialling this year was almost 100%. The one that got away being a mountain TT at the Giro, where she was second to Anna van der Breggen. Her performances against the clock landed her world and European titles and a GC win at the Tour de Suisse. 14th at the Tour de France doesn’t tell the whole story; she spent three days in yellow, only falling off the podium on the final stage
Major results: World Championship individual time trial, European Championship individual time trial, Tour de Suisse, Dwars door Vlaanderen
UCI ranking: 8
Paul Seixas
Few riders have made as big an impact in their first full year as a pro rider as Frenchman Paul Seixas did. The 19-year-old won on his second day of racing, then again on his sixth, eighth and ninth. He also finished his season with a win, the biggest one of the year, at Il Lombardia. On his Tour de France debut, he placed fourth amid all the hype as the country has a rider who almost seems destined to end their win drought.
Major results: Il Lombardia, Flèche Wallone, Itzulia Basque Country, Faun-Ardèche Classic, 2nd Strade Bianche, 2nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège
UCI ranking: 3
(Image credit: Getty Images)
No rider finished the season with as many ‘1s’ against their name as sprinter Lorena Wiebes. SD Worx Protime’s leader won 25 times this season. 30 if you include points classifications which she topped in five of the six stage races she started this year. The Tour of Poland didn’t have a points classification, but it’s a moot point as she won all three stages and the GC. Top sprinters, male or female, are expected to win, but this year’s win count was on another level.
Major results: In Flanders Fields, Tour of Poland, Copenhagen Sprint, Tour de France Femmes x2 stages and green jersey, Tour of Britain Women x4 stages, Tour of Chongming Island
UCI ranking: 5
