The tip of the 12 months is a time that at all times ushers in lots of reflection. Some considerate self-reflection, and a complete lot of app-based reflection, trying again on precisely what number of instances you listened to a tune, or what number of kilometres you rode in your bike.
While I am unable to share a full Cyclingnews Wrapped – though we printed over 350 articles with ‘Pogačar’ within the headline – I’ve spent a while digging by way of all the largest tales per 30 days of this 12 months, to construct an image of how the 2025 season unfolded, and what the defining moments have been.
These 12 headlines are from tales that basically lower by way of the noise of the game’s countless information cycle, and actually acquired the entire biking world speaking – in good methods and dangerous ones. From security considerations to a physique weight debate on the Tour de France Femmes, and from doping inquiries to gravel drama, 2025 actually had all of it.
It’s possible you’ll like
It is at all times enlightening to look again at tales from a while in the past, as you usually discover that matters that have been as soon as simply hypothesis or chatter truly ended up turning into materials change (or not less than, makes an attempt at it), and that is what occurred with this story.
Gear restrictions have been floated previously, however Wout van Aert made an actual assertion as he got here out in favour of them, as such a high-profile rider and one who was nonetheless recovering from a high-speed crash on the Vuelta a España.
The story clearly biking followers, too, as hundreds of you learn this one, and the subject of substances restrictions ticked on by way of the season, with numerous folks weighing in on whether or not it was a good suggestion or not.
The problem got here to a head in the summertime when the UCI introduced their plans to run a gear restriction check, deliberate for the Tour of Guangxi. To say that the proposal was poorly acquired could be an understatement, because the check, which was solely going to be that, a check, not a long-term implementation, turned the subject of a authorized case, with the Belgian Competitors Authority in the end ruling that the UCI weren’t allowed to run the check.
So the check did not occur, and kit restriction stays an underexplored security precaution, although the UCI may take a look at doing additional exams. However no matter occurs, this matter from the beginning of 2025 could effectively proceed into 2026, too, as the game continues its mission to be safer.
February was actually the month the place all the things went unsuitable, and a couple of bike race descended into farce.
It’s possible you’ll like
The one which stands out is stage 1 of the Volta ao Algarve, when nearly all of the peloton took the unsuitable exit on a roundabout, and ended up sprinting alongside the open (to pedestrians) right-hand aspect of a large street, while the end line was on the left.
The entire scenario was fairly harmful, on condition that the spectators have been on the skin of the limitations the place the peloton got here charging down on the unsuitable aspect, and there was clearly a scarcity of inattentiveness if the peloton was in a position to comply with a moto down the diversion reasonably than in direction of the signposted proper street.
Happily, there have been no accidents, so probably the most unlucky a part of the day ended up being that Filippo Ganna, who went the suitable method and ‘received’, was not awarded the win as the entire stage was declared null and void. Positive, he could not have received if the entire peloton had been there, however possibly he deserved one thing for being one in all just a few riders who have been paying sufficient consideration to go the suitable method.
Madly, the race chaos didn’t cease there, with an altogether extra worrying scenario unfolding on the Étoile des Bessèges in France, the place a number of automobiles ended up on the race course, and led to a number of groups simply up and leaving, quitting the race. You possibly can completely perceive why groups refuse to place their riders in peril if security isn’t assured – it was extra shocking that some groups stayed and continued racing.
Security was already a sizzling matter initially of the 12 months, however February supplied a really stark reminder of the risks and dangers posed in professional biking, and simply how necessary it’s that these items do not go unsuitable.
I labored on many of those columns with Sean Kelly through the Spring, and as quickly as I noticed that he’d stated Tadej Pogačar could be loopy if he raced Paris-Roubaix, I knew this column could be a winner, and it was.
What Kelly stated was removed from probably the most advanced evaluation, nevertheless it was straight to the purpose, and to be sincere, very true. Even Pogačar’s personal workforce have been telling the press that they thought it will be too huge a danger for the Slovenian to line up on the cobbles, and open up a really huge danger of crashing, getting injured, and jeopardising the remainder of his season.
In a month which was stuffed with Classics headlines and storylines, the subject of Pogačar driving Roubaix was one of many richest seams, exactly as a result of, as Kelly stated, it will be a reasonably wild factor for the world’s finest Grand Tour rider to do.
The rumours that the Slovenian may trip Roubaix are nonetheless going round, particularly after his win on the gravel on Saturday, however I feel it’s a loopy thought at this level in his profession. When he and the workforce have been speaking about it I simply thought “what are they speaking about right here?”
Sean Kelly
One of the best bit, after all, is that Pogačar did trip Roubaix, and it was loopy – not as a result of something dangerous occurred, however as a result of he virtually went and received the factor, on his very first try. Regardless of all of the naysayers, regardless of the good selection of not driving it being proper there. It stated lots concerning the man, and I feel additional endeared him to lots of people. This isn’t a rider who is especially eager on doing the traditional or logical factor.
Paris-Roubaix at all times appears to be the largest race within the month of April. It actually is the Queen of the Classics, some of the distinctive races on the calendar, and infrequently an actual brute of a race.
We have already coated the defining ingredient of the lads’s race – Pogačar’s presence might be extra memorable than one more win for Mathieu van der Poel – however the ladies’s race on Saturday was simply as thrilling.
As she’s later revealed, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wasn’t even as a result of trip Roubaix, however requested to be put in as a result of she was tired of coaching. Then, she awoke on the morning of the race sick and sat on the bus, hoping the workforce would simply inform her to go house. She was cleared to race, although, and just some hours later, she was standing atop the rostrum within the Roubaix velodrome, lifting a cobblestone trophy above her head.
The way in which Ferrand-Prévot was uncommon, on condition that she was meant to be driving for Marianne Vos, and launched a transfer that simply appeared prefer it was setting one thing up for the Dutchwoman. However, weirdly, the peloton did not react, and Ferrand-Prévot’s hole acquired larger and greater till she was soloing to victory.
She had already proven her power in races like Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders, however successful Roubaix was a real ‘oh, she actually is again’ second for the rider who hadn’t raced a street season in years. Even in her post-race interview, she was already speaking about successful the Tour de France Femmes, which nonetheless felt sort of wild on the time. If solely we knew.
Although Simon Yates received the Giro d’Italia (in an actual fairytale method), it felt then and feels now that Isaac del Toro was actually the story of that race. He broke by way of as a GC rider in a spectacular method, ignited a management disaster at UAE Crew Emirates-XRG that will end in Juan Ayuso’s departure, and watched the prospect of successful a Grand Tour trip away from him, all within the area of lower than two weeks.
For any rider, doing that on the Giro would already make a exceptional 12 months, however Del Toro went on to win 18 instances throughout the season, together with two GC titles and double nationwide titles on the Mexican Championships, which hadn’t taken place for years, and biking within the nation has little question been reignited by Del Toro.
Simon Yates’ redemptive victory was the emotional narrative of the second, however the Giro will definitely be remembered as the beginning of Del Toro’s story.
I feel the opening day of the Dauphiné could go down as some of the memorable race days of the entire 12 months, as a result of it was so sudden. I bear in mind I used to be on a bus on the time, not bothering to look at because it was certainly only a dash stage, after which scrambling to get the stage enjoying on my telephone once I heard that the perfect riders on the planet have been on the assault.
On the primary day of assembly in 2025, Pogačar and Vingegaard could not even wait a day earlier than buying and selling blows, with Vingegaard instigating a late-stage assault that noticed him, Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel and Santiago Buitrago get away within the finale of what was penned as a dash stage. Seeing the highest GC riders and the highest Classics rider (and Santiago Buitrago, sorry to him) battling it out was so thrilling.
In the long run, Pogačar’s dash acquired the higher of Vingegaard, and nobody truly gained any time because the peloton sped in direction of them on the road. Nevertheless, it was a large signal of intent from the Dane, and a sign that he wasn’t going to only sit again and let Pogačar do his factor this 12 months.
Simply whenever you assume we would lastly have a Tour de France with no doping storyline, one comes out of the woodwork. This 12 months, a narrative had been brewing for the reason that Giro about how Ineos Grenadiers’ head carer had been named in a court docket case surrounding Operation Aderlass, texting doping ring chief Mark Schmidt in 2012. Though it was over a decade in the past, the truth that this individual was now a senior determine on the workforce and dealing on the Tour made it a noteworthy story.
While tales about Pogačar’s wins and Jonas Vingegaard’s losses dominated our web site – as they’d the 12 months earlier than – the subject of doping, albeit historic, nonetheless lower by way of, enjoying out through a clumsy press convention after Thymen Arensman had received stage 14.
I do not know about this. You’d need to ask the administration to be sincere. I am simply targeted on my job and doing my very own factor, so I do not actually know, to be sincere. You’d need to ask concerning the administration; they’re there for it.
Thymen Arensman, Ineos Grenadiers
I bear in mind this press convention effectively, sitting in an occasion area in Bagnères-de-Luchon. An ASO staffer got here as much as the journalists ready for Arensman to look through video hyperlink to inform us that we have been solely allowed to ask racing-related questions – a request none of us had ever heard in a race press convention, neither earlier than nor since, the place the race organisers do not usually attempt to do groups’ PR. Apparently, the request had come from the workforce, who later stated it was as a result of they did not need questions on one other incident that day, by which an Ineos automotive hit a spectator, however I am nonetheless not clear on precisely why or how the request was made.
Anyway, it did not work, as two of the 4 questions requested did find yourself being concerning the workforce workers member in query (with names taken of the journalists who requested, once more not one thing I’ve ever seen earlier than). Pretty, Arensman stated he had nothing to say and knew nothing concerning the scenario, and truthfully, it was awkward and a disgrace that the largest win of his profession was adopted by that. Nevertheless it was meant to be tough. Nobody thought Arensman was going to carry the lid on a scandal, however the press needed to put stress on Ineos to withstand questions themselves, and never let this occur to their riders once more.
Did the stress end in a greater response from Ineos? The reality is it did not actually, and so they stay to at the present time very closed to any questions concerning the matter. However that day, and this headline, underlined that the press weren’t going to let it go.
The most important race of August was, after all, the Tour de France Femmes. While a lot of the eye targeted on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s spectacular, nation-inspiring victory, together with successful the ultimate stage, solo, within the yellow jersey, it was a unique matter that lower by way of and repeatedly made headlines.
This was the subject of weight – shedding it, being lighter or heavier, what every rider thought of different riders’ weights, what everybody thought of riders being requested about this. A small matter appeared to snowball and dominated the headlines with all completely different angles and views cropping up within the days that adopted.
The truth that riders have been even requested about this divided opinions. For some, asking ladies about their our bodies and weight felt reductive, sexist even, reverting to lazy tropes when a girl has simply carried out one thing unbelievable. However on the opposite aspect of that argument, weight isn’t totally irrelevant with regards to biking. When watts per kilo will be the distinction between successful and shedding, weight is a facet of efficiency, and Ferrand-Prévot could be the primary to say that shedding weight was a selected, deliberate a part of her preparation, and a part of why she received.
I feel the pushback extra got here from the truth that it all of the sudden felt like the entire narrative was dominated by this one matter within the days following the race, reasonably than discussions about, say, ways or race craft.
Maybe the subject might have been dealt with with extra sensitivity and never handled like a tabloid headline, because it was in locations. We tried to watch out and balanced in our protection, to not scale back the world’s finest athletes to their our bodies, however to focus on the dialog.
August and September have been closely outlined by the dramatic, disruptive protests on the Vuelta a España, which can in all probability stick in lots of minds for for much longer than Jonas Vingegaard’s victory, significantly as he was topped champion in a random automotive park reasonably than on the Madrid podium.
We wrote about these protests and their fallout virtually day-after-day through the race, it felt like, nevertheless it turned out that the protests have been solely only the start, and the influence would proceed to unravel for weeks.
Regardless of affirming through the Vuelta that they weren’t going to bow beneath the load of the protests and provides in to those that disagree with Israel’s presence within the sport, the workforce then confronted stress a lot nearer to house, as bike sponsor Issue threatened to tug out with no rebrand.
Because it unfurled, Issue did pull out, although IPT did comply with by way of with a rebrand, as title sponsor Premier Tech additionally deemed that their relationship had grow to be “untenable”, little question due to the affiliation with Israel and the following protests.
In the course of the Vuelta, many commentators and pundits have been of the idea that protests would do little however trigger inconvenience to a motorcycle race, however within the weeks following the race, it turned very clear that the protests have been working. Wherever manufacturers stand on the precise difficulty at hand, few need to be linked with a workforce with an more and more destructive affiliation.
Yearly, the UCI Gravel World Championships develop in stature, and this 12 months, a wholesome dose of drama made the occasion the discuss of the city for a number of days. The controversy kicked off as a result of, within the closing kilometres of the ladies’s title race, Shirin van Anrooij on her solution to a rainbow title, as she soloed to the end.
However as an alternative, she was denied the win, crushed by her personal teammate Lorena Wiebes, after one other one in all her teammates, Yara Kastelijn, had carried out a giant flip to shut the hole to Van Anrooij. In the long run, Van Anrooij did not even medal.
This in all probability would have been a giant story both method, nevertheless it actually blew up as Van Anrooij did not mince her phrases concerning the incident, saying she thought the world title was taken away from her. Kastelijn weighed in quickly after, saying she’d regretted what she did and had apologised.
The story actually took off as a result of it raised so many factors for dialogue. First being this repeated theme of the Dutch ladies’s workforce usually not fairly having the ability to work collectively as a workforce – in all probability as a result of they’ve virtually all the peloton’s finest riders of their quantity – so it was an incident that felt like one in all many.
Secondly, it raised the query of whether or not teamwork ought to even be a factor in gravel. It largely is not, however nations do line up as groups at Worlds – albeit the Netherlands had practically 30 riders and different nations just one, so it isn’t standardised like it’s in a street race. Ought to the opposite Dutch riders have ‘let’ Van Anrooij win as a Dutch win is a Dutch win, or have been all of them racing for themselves? Nobody might determine on that.
Although we cowl a whole lot of tales through the season, it could actually take some time for all of the storylines to really play out, and it is commonplace to get to the winter, and we discover out one thing that we did not find out about through the summer time, and that is what occurred right here.
All by way of the ultimate week of the Tour de France, the query amongst us journalists on the bottom and the followers at house was ‘what’s unsuitable with Pogačar?’ He simply wasn’t being his standard self, not occurring huge daring assaults, coming to the press conferences moody and able to depart, speaking about how drained he was. Was he simply lastly losing interest with the Tour, or was one thing occurring behind the scenes?
We could not fairly unravel it on the time – UAE Crew Emirates-XRG will need to have felt relieved that it did not leak out – however in November, the reality got here out that Pogačar had been scuffling with a knee damage and got here near dropping out of the race. It defined lots, and clearly we had suspected one thing on the time, nevertheless it was nonetheless a fairly large revelation, and one which stunned us – and also you readers too, judging by what number of of you wished to examine it.
He was in lots of ache, we had doubts about his potential to complete. We even thought of him abandoning the race. On the workforce bus, we might see his physique wasn’t effectively, he was all fluid, he’d gained weight.
Tim Wellens
It was a giant reminder that Pogačar is fallible, and his dominance is liable to damage, as a result of he is solely human. Maybe we should not simply take his wins as so predetermined.
This story additionally made us, as journalists, ask questions of ourselves. There was as soon as a time when the Tour press corps was so huge {that a} rider couldn’t slip off to the hospital with out somebody seeing, however assets and technique imply that none of us have been stationed on the UAE lodge throughout this Tour.
However have been we maybe not asking the suitable questions, not digging deep sufficient within the remaining week? Or is it simply that groups are higher at maintaining secrets and techniques now, and we’re much less inclined to be doorstepping riders? I assumed it raised an fascinating debate, and I am not fairly positive the place my view lies.
Oscar Onley was undoubtedly the storyline of the month in December, by way of mounting hypothesis to his eventual confirmed transfer to Ineos Grenadiers.
After a lot chatter over the low season, my colleague Simone Giuliani went to the horse’s mouth initially of December, chatting with Onley on the Tour of Vibrant, the place he was remarkably open. “It is nonetheless issues up within the air somewhat bit,” he informed us.
“It is fairly apparent that there is going to be curiosity in me after coming fourth within the Tour, and there is been, I feel, in all probability 15 groups which have reached out to my supervisor or reached out to the workforce instantly. And you recognize … you additionally need to capitalise on what I’ve carried out this 12 months, however, yeah, I am unable to actually say a lot simply now.”
Issues virtually definitely have been nonetheless up within the air at that time, as we perceive that negotiations between Picnic-PostNL and Ineos to purchase out Onley’s contract took a while, however ultimately the small print have been hammered out – with a number of tens of millions of Euros altering fingers – and the transfer was accomplished simply two days earlier than Christmas.
Although Onley’s transfer was distinctive in being so late (although Derek Gee might nonetheless trump him with a good later transfer, presumably to Lidl-Trek), the notion of riders transferring mid-contract has gone from a rarity to virtually a given for prime riders. Onley is not less than the sixth main rider to do it this 12 months alone, following Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Nienke Vinke and Charlotte Kool.
Annually, increasingly more of those strikes are occurring, and partly that is as a result of the UCI regulated and formalised the method. However the actual fact of their turning into extra frequent clearly exhibits an issue. Groups are more and more attempting to lock riders into long-term contracts, because it helps with issues like securing sponsorship, however the piece of paper is turning into meaningless as riders can get out of contracts for the suitable worth, that means offers are increasingly more one-sided, and supply stability for nobody.
There’s additionally the problem of smaller, development-focused groups consistently having their riders poached, like within the case of Onley. After all, Picnic will obtain a lump sum for his or her efforts in kickstarting his profession, however the buy-out payment isn’t particularly regulated, and groups have misplaced robust riders for lots much less.
If biking is to grow to be about contract wars and large wages, like soccer is in Europe, possibly it is time to transfer away from traditions and in addition undertake soccer’s contract mannequin, the place charges are huge, and there are rewards for growing expertise.
