Peter Sagan at his gran fondo in California(Image credit: Christopher Keiser/@KaffeineKeiser)
Peter Sagan of Tinkoff (L) and Belgian Sep Vanmarcke of Team LottoNL-Jumbo compete on the Paterberg during the 100th edition of the Tour of Flanders
2016 World Championships podium (l-r): Mark Cavendish (Great Britain), Peter Sagan (Slovakia) and Tom Boonen (Belgium)
Romain Bardet finishes Milano-Torino(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Romain Bardet made up for lack of quantity with a quality win for the French on stage 19(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan has been awarded the Vélo d'Or for 2016, in recognition of an outstanding season that saw him dominate the UCI's rankings. It is the first time that the Slovakian has won the title as he joins the likes of Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Tom Boonen and Miguel Indurain as winners of the award.
Sagan finished well clear of Froome in the UCI World Ranking after taking 14 victories this year, including the Tour of Flanders, three stages of the Tour de France, the European Championships and his second consecutive world title. Sagan also claimed his fifth Tour de France green jersey and said last month that he would be targeting a record equalling sixth in 2017.
With 86 points compared to 70, Sagan beat Froome who won his third Tour de France title. Vuelta a España winner Nairo Quintana, took the third spot with 43 points.
Romain Bardet succeeded Thibaut Pinot in the Vélo d'Or Francaise, winning by a considerable margin. The AG2R La Mondiale rider, who finished second at this year's Tour de France, got 120 points with Arnaud Demare next best with 88. Julian Alaphilippe took 62 points to finish in third place.
As well as his second place at the Tour, Bardet claimed a stage win following an impressive solo breakaway and finished second overall at the Criterium du Dauphine.
The Vélo d'Or is run by the French Vélo magazine and was initiated in 1992 with Indurain winning the first and second awards. Alberto Contador has won the award more times than any other rider, winning it a total of four times, most recently in 2014. Froome won last year's, ahead of Sagan and Fabio Aru.
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