Pogacar and Vollering lead 2026 Velo d'Or nominees as shortlists are revealed

On Monday, Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas were crowned the winners of the 2026 Ballon d’Or, in what is increasingly becoming a legacy-defining achievement in the world of football. 

With a glamorous ceremony hosted at the London Palladium, packed with the sport’s biggest stars, the Ballon d’Or is a far cry from a bygone era, as demonstrated by 2001 winner Michael Owen, who admitted he didn’t know what the award was when he was told he had won it. 

Similarly, the Velo d’Or is significantly increasing in prestige, scale and cultural footprint, with the awards now hosted at a glamorous event in Monaco. 

After a jam-packed 2026 season, L’Equipe announced this Thursday the shortlists for the respective categories, including the ten nominees for the men’s and women’s Velo d’Ors respectively. The winners will be announced on Saturday, 28 November.

Three-time winner Tadej Pogačar spearheads the nominees for the men’s award, having won in 2021, 2024 and 2025. The Slovenian is joined by his UAE teammates Isaac del Toro and world champion Brandon McNulty. 

Fellow Grand Tour champions this year: Enric Mas and Jonas Vingegaard have also been nominated, with the latter being the 2023 winner. 

Remco Evenepoel, Felix Gall, Paul Seixas, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel round out a star-studded selection of nominees for the men’s prize. 

On the women’s side, 2025 winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is a notable absentee from the nominees list. 

After completing the Triple Crown this season, Demi Vollering stands as the outstanding favourite to win the award for the first time since 2023. The Dutchwoman has had to settle for second in the last two years. 

Vollering is the only former winner nominated for the 2026 award, with Juliette Berthet, Paula Blasi, Kim Le Court, Elisa Longo Borghini, Antonia Niedermaier, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Marlen Reusser, Anna van der Breggen and Lorena Wiebes being the other nominees. 

Beyond the main two prizes, other categories include the best Classics rider of the year and two new awards: the best sprinter and best rookie. 

Evenepoel, Pogačar, Seixas, Van Aert and Van der Poel are the five riders nominated for the Classics award alongside the main prize. Meanwhile, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering are joined by Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner Franziska Koch, Lotte Kopecky and Puck Pieterse. 

Matthew Brennan, Paul Magnier, Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen are the riders in contention for the sprinters' prize alongside Elisa Balsamo, Lara Gillespie, Charlotte Kool, Nienke Veenhoven and Lorena Wiebes. 

Brennan has also been nominated for the rookie prize alongside Seixas and Jakob Omrzel, while Blasi features alongside Célia Géry and Isabella Holmgren. The rookie prize is open to a public vote.