Domestique Awards 2025: Best Domestique Men - Narvaez, Consonni, Campenaerts or Dillier

It’s time to honour the unsung heroes of the peloton, the riders whose purpose is not to win, but to turn themselves inside out for their leaders. Most of these riders don’t often stand on podiums, but the stars of the sport stand on their shoulders. 

Some pedal metronomically for hours before the TV cameras switch on, others position their sprinters to perfection or ride to a stand-still on steep ascents. Some of these riders were never born to be big winners, while others have laid down their own ambitions in favour of others. 

Here are the nominees for men’s domestique of the year.

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Narvaez is much more than your ordinary helper. The Ecuadorian champion won his first WorldTour stage race earlier this year at the Tour Down Under, and is a two-time Giro d’Italia stage victor. However, for much of the 2025 season, the 28-year-old from El Playon de San Francisco let personal ambitions take a back seat in support of the man who has dominated so many of the world’s biggest races: Tadej Pogačar. 

In March, Narvaez was the man who exploded Milano-Sanremo, stretching out the peloton on the Cipressa to enable Pogačar to write a new script for a Monument that should in theory be out of the Slovenian’s reach.

Then in July, Narvaez was one of the surprise packages of the Tour de France. The Classics man became Pogačar’s alpine right-hand-man, more often than not being the eventual winner’s final team-mate in the mountains. Pogačar was almost unbeatable in 2025, but Narvaez played his role to perfection.

Arguably, Jonathan Milan announced himself as the best sprinter in the world in 2025, taking seven wins at WorldTour level including two Tour de France stages and the green jersey. Alongside him for every WorldTour victory was his lead-out man Simone Consonni.

Consonni and Milan’s relationship goes way back. They have won Olympic, World and European Championships together on the track in the team pursuit before teaming up on the road as part of Lidl-Trek in 2024. That understanding is telling on the road where they win together in a variety of ways. At times Consonni drops Milan off at the perfect moment, and at others he places him in the perfect wheel and Milan does the rest, stomping on the pedals in his individual style. 

There is perhaps no better sprint duo in the world right now, and that’s as much down to Consonni’s expertise as it is to Milan’s speed.

Once focused on being one of the best time-triallists in the world, Victor Campenaerts has transitioned into a deluxe workhorse with Visma | Lease a Bike.

In 2025, Campenaerts was a regular feature near the front of the bunch, perfectly positioning his leaders whether it was over the cobbles of Flanders or in the mountains of France or Spain. Through Paris-Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Tour de France and La Vuelta a España, ‘Campy’ acted as bodyguard to Jonas Vingegaard and at times was used as a satellite rider, displaying the versatility with which he can play his role. 

Not only is Campenaerts a valuable asset in the peloton, but he is also celebrated as part of the social glue at Visma | Lease a Bike. He’s well known to be a likeable character and through his social media, even gives a glimpse into life on the bus with the Dutch squad. 

Most of Swiss rider Silvan Dillier’s work this season will not have been witnessed by even the most dedicated viewers. The former Paris-Roubaix runner-up has become the unseen linchpin to Mathieu van der Poel’s remarkable success. 

Often way before the television cameras are switched on, Dillier is perched on the front of the peloton steadily tapping away in a bid to keep a breakaway within reach. For thousands of kilometres this year, Dillier has done his job with distinction. 

The 35-year-old failed to finish six out of his seven races during the 2025 Classics campaign, not because of a weakness in his legs, but because his job was done with two hours of racing still to complete. Dillier played a part in Van der Poel’s victories this year at Milano-Sanremo, E3 Saxo Classic and Paris-Roubaix, before riding his sixth Tour de France where the team picked up three stages. 

Also have a look at the other categories of the Domestique Awards!

Most Entertaining Race Men
Most Entertaining Race Women
Most Entertaining Rider Men
Most Entertaining Rider Women
Breakthrough Rider Men
Breakthrough Rider Women
Best Domestique Women