Domestique Awards 2025: Most Entertaining Race Men - From Milan to Montmartre

First up in this year’s inaugural Domestique Awards, we present the award for Most Entertaining Race.

Defining ‘entertainment’ in cycling is no easy task. Where one fan delights in the sight of climbers winding their way up an Alpine pass, another might prefer the power and chaos of a bunch sprint.

After much debate, a panel of Domestique creators agreed on what we believe were the four most entertaining race days of the year. The shortlist was distilled from an extensive long list that could just as easily have featured the shock finish at Amstel Gold Race, the gravel drama of the Giro d’Italia’s Siena stage, the off-road chaos of Tro Bro Léon or the breakaway glory at the ADAC Cyclassics.

Which of the four races below did you enjoy the most? Cast your vote on X or Instagram.

La Classicissima, the first Monument of the season, never fails to deliver a pulsating experience for viewers, at least once it finally reaches the Poggio. In 2025, though, Tadej Pogačar wanted to try something new to finally break through in one of the few Monuments he had ridden but not yet won. The race exploded earlier than it had in years.

After seasons of speculation about attacking on the Cipressa, Pogačar finally made good on the threat. Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna responded immediately. The chase to the line, with Pogačar and Van der Poel trading attacks and Ganna fighting his way back to stay in contention, was completely different from what we had seen in recent editions. It was fast, bold and highly compelling.

When Neilson Powless found himself in a leading group of four with three riders from a motivated Visma | Lease a Bike team, few would have expected him to win. Watching at home, nobody else did either.

The final stages of an already exciting day on the bergs and cobbles of Flanders were gripping. Powless rode smartly, surviving Tiesj Benoot’s attempt to isolate him and hanging on in what looked like a three-man Visma time trial. The team backed Wout van Aert for victory, leading him out confidently, but Powless held his speed to the line. He took a shock win and delivered one of the biggest surprises of the season.

The only Grand Tour of the year where the GC battle lasted the full three weeks came down to a decisive showdown on the Colle delle Finestre. The stage turned the race upside down.

Isaac Del Toro, in pink since stage 9, marked second-placed Richard Carapaz closely as they moved clear with Simon Yates, who started the day in third. When Yates attacked and rode steadily away, it seemed only a matter of time before one of the two reacted. The move never came. Carapaz refused to do the work, and Del Toro, unsure of his strategy or unwilling to let the Ecuadorian go, watched the race slip away.

Yates pressed on, helped by Wout van Aert on the flat that followed the climb. He found redemption after losing the GC on the same mountain in 2018. It was a remarkable reversal that overshadowed a brilliant stage win for Jayco–AlUla's Chris Harper.

A year after a glorious Olympic road race unfolded on the streets of Paris, the Tour’s final stage was changed to include the cobbled climb of Montmartre. The decision sparked mixed reactions. Why change tradition? And what about the sprinters, who had fought to make it to the end, only to lose their final chance to shine?

The answer came in one of the most exciting Grand Tour stages of the year. Yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar went head-to-head with an elite group of stage hunters for one last shot at history. Against the backdrop of Paris’s landmarks, Julian Alaphilippe, who else, lit up the race on the first ascent of Montmartre. The group was gradually reduced to just six riders, including the race leader.

Winning on the final day in yellow would have been historic, but on wet cobbles and against the power of Wout van Aert, Pogačar could not prevail. Van Aert took the victory after a thrilling battle that proved the Paris parade can still surprise.

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

Most Entertaining Race Women
Most Entertaining Rider Men
Most Entertaining Rider Women
Breakthrough Rider Men