VELO D'OR 2025, The Voices of Cycling at the Gabriel Pavilion

Just a month and a half ago, we were already very close to here, a few hundred meters further northwest, in the heart of the Paris Convention Centre, for the presentation of the 2026 Towers. A highlight that we told you about in this post Preview of the 2026 Tours: words from the peloton. Tonight, crossing Paris, the feeling is the same but the atmosphere has changed. Where the Palais des Congrès once imposed its monumental verticality, the Gabriel Pavilion offers the hushed intimacy of a setting steeped in history, a place that has witnessed the passage of couture, culture and politics, and which now hosts one of the most sensitive events in modern cycling: the ceremony of the Golden Bike™

By Jeff Tatard – Photo: @jefftatard

You’ll find here: emotions, reconBirth, symbols, and above all, that rare moment when the bicycle observes itself. Presented by Claire Bricogne and David MillarChampions, sports directors, young talents and historical figures come together to make the review of the 2025 season which shaped memories.

Under the gilded ceilings of the Pavillon Gabriel, even Drucker would have applauded the staging… and the two magnificent masters of ceremonies.

And there's something almost cinematic about seeing cycling take root within these walls: le Gabriel Pavilion has long been the television stronghold of Michel Drucker, a place where the major events of French audiovisual media took place every week. Celebrating cycling heroes here today is like bringing the 2025 season into a whole part of our shared culture.

True to our editorial line, which strives to be as intelligent, humane, and historically grounded as possible, we asked them a single question, the same for everyone. A question that doesn't simply describe the present: it calls for a vision…

"What inspires you about the 2025 cycling year for 2026, and what role do you think the Vélo d'Or™ plays in how cycling is judged and portrayed?"

WHAT BIKES SAY – SPECIAL GOLDEN BIKE™ 2025

Gilles Comte – Editor-in-Chief of Cycling Magazine

“We all said to ourselves that a season like Pogačar’s last year only happens once. And he’s done it again. At the same level. It’s extremely rare: winning a Grand Tour, three Monuments, dominating on all terrains… It forces his rivals to reinvent themselves. Even riders like Evenepoel are now working specifically to understand how to beat him. For 2026, either he continues his dynasty, or the gap closes, and that would become exciting.”
As for the Vélo d'Or™, it's clear it matters: Cavendish told me again that he should have won it twice, and that it upset him. But cycling remains a sport where victory is paramount. A rider lives to win Roubaix, a World Championship, not for a trophy. Yet, being a Vélo d'Or™ winner says something about your place in the times. And champions know that.

Luis Ángel Maté – Winner of the 2024 Gino Mäder Prize

“The Gino Mäder Prize is a wonderful way to honor a runner who fought for the environment. It’s not a sporting victory, it doesn’t replace a result in a record, but it’s important: it highlights commitments that matter.”

This year, awarding the trophy to Matteo Trentin was a powerful gesture. Cycling also reflects the world around it, and this prize is a reminder of that.

Mark Cavendish – 2nd in the Vélo d'Or 2009 and 2011

“I’m not going to lie: yes, I would have liked to win it. In 2009 after Milan-San Remo, in 2011 the year of the world title… It’s an important trophy. And when you finish second, you inevitably think about it.”

And when asked about the place of the Vélo d'Or in relation to the Ballon d'Or, he replies: "The only reason the Ballon d'Or has more resonance is that in football we're not used to individual triumphs, whereas in cycling, even with team support, only one rider ever wins, and so the whole year is a continuous cycle of individual triumphs."

Alexandre Léauté – Winner of the 2024 & 2025 Handisport Prize

"I don't know what it means to Pogačar or Pauline, but for me, being rewarded on the same night as them is incredible. I'd add it to my list of achievements without hesitation. It's a great line on a CV."

João Almeida – World number 2

"Tadej is in stag"He couldn't be there. This trophy isn't his priority, but it's still the culmination of a full season. He races to win races, not awards, but the Vélo d'Or™ reflects everything he's accomplished."

Conclusion

It's nearly 23 p.m. when the voices subside and the last trophies disappear into their velvet covers. One thing, however, remains in the air: the impression that world cycling has just taken a moment to look at itself honestly.

After the presentation of the 2026 Tours at the Palais des Congrès, after this Vélo d'Or™ ceremony at the Pavillon Gabriel, one thing is clear: The bicycle moves forward, but it moves forward consciously.

2025 didn't just offer remarkable victories: it revealed human trajectories, it revealed ruptures, it revealed career stops and ends, it revealed emergences, it revealed turning points. And if the responses gathered tonight have one thing in common, it's the idea that 2026 could be even more eventful, more creative, more daring.

3bikes He will be there. On the routeBehind the scenes, at the heart of the stories. As always…