Pauline Ferrand Prevot nominated for the prestigious Vélo d'Or

The most prestigious prize in the world of cycling, awarded every year by the magazine Vélo, has a specific trophy for the women's category for the first time in 2022. An award whose election is expected to be close between Ferrand Prevot and Annemiek Van Vleuten after the incredible season that both cyclists have completed.

What are the Vélo d'Or awards?

The most prestigious cycling awards, organised by the French magazine Vélo to recognise the best cyclist of the year, have been awarded every year without interruption since 1992, the year in which none other than Miguel Indurain inaugurated the list of winners.

These awards enjoy a notorious prestige in the world of cycling as the choice of the best cyclist is made on the basis of the votes of the most reputable cycling journalists.

New for 2022, Vélo magazine has finally decided to include a specific vote for the women's category, confirming the great growth shown in recent years.

In the list of winners, we can see that the rider who has achieved this award the most times is Alberto Contador, who won it in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2014. He is followed by Britain's Chris Froome with three titles and the great Miguel Indurain with two.

If we talk about countries, Spanish cyclists are the ones who monopolise the list of winners, with 7 trophies won, in addition to the aforementioned Indurain and Contador, by Alejandro Valverde in 2018.

Who are the nominees in 2022

In this first edition of the women's Vélo d'Or the election is very exciting, with the French Pauline Ferrand Prevot as the top favourite after winning no less than 4 rainbow jerseys in the Short Track, XCO and Marathon World Championships in Mountain Bike, to which she added the new Gravel World Championship at the end of the season.

Facing her will be Annemiek Van Vleuten, who in the year of the debut of the women's Tour de France, has not only won the desired yellow jersey, but a few weeks earlier she had won the maglia rosa of the Giro and shortly after she would add the red jersey of La Vuelta, finishing the season with her incredible victory in the World Championships in Australia.

Completing the list of candidates in the women's category are former world champion Elisa Balsamo, Marta Cavalli, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Mathilde Gros, Lotte Kopecky, Juliette Labous, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Demi Vollering, Marianne Vos and Lorena Wiebes.

On the men's side, the decision seems clearer after Remco Evenepoel's tremendous season and his victories in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Vuelta and the World Championships.

Among his rivals in the voting would be the peloton giants Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar and Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard. Among them, there are some names like Filippo Ganna after his marvellous last weeks linking the hour and individual pursuit records or the omnipresent Wout Van Aert who, despite his great campaigns in the last few years, has not managed to win this award, having finished third in the two previous years.

We will have to wait until the end of November to know the result of the voting and the winners will usually have an important role in the December issue of Vélo magazine.