The Vélo d'Or (French for "Golden Bicycle") is an annual cycle racing award, given to the cyclist considered to have performed the best over the racing season. It is awarded by the French cycling magazine Vélo Magazine, with the winner chosen by a panel of international cycling journalists. The Vélo d'Or is considered one of cycling's highest individual honors, similar to the Ballon d'Or in football.
Since 2022, the Vélo d'Or Femmes has also been awarded to the best female cyclist of the season. Both trophies are presented each year at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris, alongside several sub-categories: the Eddy Merckx Trophy, awarded to the best classics rider since 2023, the Chris Hoy Trophy, awarded to the best Olympics discipline rider since 2024. There are also awards for French riders: from 1992 to 2022, the Vélo d'Or français was given to the best overall French cyclist. Since 2025, this has been subdivided into two awards: the "Trophée Bernard Hinault" for male cyclists and the "Trophée Jeannie Longo" for female cyclists.
Alberto Contador holds the record for the most awards, winning the Vélo d'Or four times: in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014. Lance Armstrong initially won the Vélo d'Or five times, but these victories were nullified after the USADA stripped him of his Tour de France titles following doping allegations and his eventual confession. The Vélo d'Or awards for these years were not reassigned to the runners-up.
Men's awards
Vélo d'Or winners Year Winner Second Third 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Armstrong's results have been removed by Velo magazine due to evidence of performance enhancing drug use. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Wins per rider RankRiderWinsSecondThird 1 4 1 0 2 3 1 2 3 3 1 0 4 2 2 0 5 1 2 2 6 1 1 2 1 1 2 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 15 1 0 1 1 0 1 17 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 22 0 2 0 0 2 0 23 0 1 2 0 1 225 0 1 1 26 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 34 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Eddy Merckx Trophy (best classics rider) Year Winner Second Third 2023 2024 2025 Eddy Merckx Trophy Wins per rider RankRiderWinsSecondThird 1 2 1 0 2 1 2 0 3 0 0 2 4 0 0 1
Women's awards
Vélo d'Or Femmes winners Year Winner Second Third 2022 2023 2024 2025
Wins per rider RankRiderWinsSecondThird 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 3 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 1
Eddy Merckx Trophy (best classics rider) Year Winner Second Third 2023 2024 2025
Wins per rider RankRiderWinsSecondThird 1 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 1
Additional awards Chris Hoy Trophy The Chris Hoy Trophy is awarded to the best cyclist across the various Olympic cycling disciplines. Year WinnerSecondThird 2024
Gino Mäder Prize The Gino Mäder Prize honors rider's social commitment. It is named after cyclist Gino Mäder, who raised money and frequently spoke in support of humanitarian and environmental causes, before dying in 2023 after a crash at the Tour de Suisse. Year Winner 2024 2025
References
External links Vélo Magazine Website Vélo d'Or article