Strade Bianche - Lotte Kopecky
The old and new world champion Lotte Kopecky started the season with a solo victory at Strade Bianche. In the steep lanes of Siena, she outsprinted her last rival Elisa Longo Borghini. As the 28-year-old Belgian also sprinted to victory at Paris-Roubaix, she can be considered the best one-day specialist of the year.
All-rounder Tom Pidcock
Tom Pidcock can call himself the most successful all-rounder of the season. The 25-year-old Briton is Olympic champion on his mountain bike for the second time - after a thrilling chase through the terrain. The professional cyclist from Team Ineos Grenadiers won the Amstel Gold Race on his road bike in April and thus his first spring classic.
Hopeful Biniam Girmay
Biniam Girmay is the star in his cycling-loving home country of Eritrea. He was the first dark-skinned African to win the green jersey at the Tour de France - also thanks to three stage wins in the sprint. The most successful cyclist from the middle of Africa to date received a (somewhat) matching coloured bike from his sponsor and posed with it together with his wife Saliem.
Stone biter Mathieu van der Poel
Uniting nations? The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who lives in Belgium, thrilled the international audience with his victory in the Tour of Flanders in Belgium - including, apparently, those flying the Flemish flag, who are often not particularly fond of him. A week later, the man in the rainbow jersey also triumphed at Paris-Roubaix.
Olympia: Exhilarating road race
Fans and cyclists alike were thrilled by the 2024 Olympic Games: Paris was a place with a long-lost flair - Remco Evenepoel was carried to two gold medals in the road race (see picture) and individual time trial by the frenzied crowd.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma vs. Demi Vollering - Long-distance duel 1
Demi Vollering had given her all and won the final stage to Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France Femmes. But when she arrived at the top of the ski resort, last year's winner of the Tour of France was left with nothing but disappointment, even though she had already left the yellow jersey wearer behind on the Col du Glandon.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma vs. Demi Vollering - Long-distance duel 2
Katarzyna Niewiadoma at the finish line of her dreams: the 29-year-old Polish rider from Team Canyon//SRAM Racing almost let the overall victory in the Tour de France slip away - but she fought doggedly in a long-distance duel with the distant Demi Vollering up the 21 hairpin bends to Alpe d'Huez - losing more than a minute, but saving a four-second lead in the overall standings. The outcome of the men's Tour has never been so close.
Record ride by Mark Cavendish
In the last race of his career, Mark Cavendish set a new record for stage wins at the Tour de France. The 38-year-old from the Isle of Man was the fastest on the 5th stage - for the 35th time in France. He was previously tied with Eddy Merckx. He originally wanted to end his career after the 2023 season. However, after his crash-related withdrawal from the Tour, he was persuaded by his team boss Alexandr Vinokourov to stay in the Astana jersey for another year. But now it really should be over for good ...
Powerhouse Grace Brown
There was no sign that she had had enough of professional cycling and travelling far from home: Grace Brown bid farewell to the peloton with a number of bang. Before the 32-year-old retired to Australia, she won the time trial competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris and the World Championships in Zurich. The two gold medals crowned what was by far the best year of her career. She had previously won the spring classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April in the jersey of her team FDJ-Suez.
Hands up - Vuelta victory for Primoz Roglic
Primoz Roglic crowned his debut year in the new Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe racing team with victory in the Tour of Spain. Dressed in red, he celebrated with his fellow racers and support staff as well as team boss Ralph Denk (with bike). He won three stages en route. The 34-year-old Slovenian newcomer had previously won the Tour of the Dauphine, but had to abandon the following Tour de France. Despite a heavy crash on stage 4 of the Tour of the Basque Country, he contributed a third of the team's 24 victories this season.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
