Pidcock defended his title from Tokyo 2020 in dramatic fashion at Élancourt Hill, recovering from a puncture to chase down home French hope Victor Koretzky and overtake him at the last with a bold move near the very end of the final lap.
Amid his campaign at the Ardennes Classics, Pidcock wasn't present at the awards ceremony in the Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, however, British track cycling great Sir Chris Hoy was on hand to present the award to his compatriot, with Pidcock accepting over video.
"I’m sorry I can’t be with you tonight. At least for me, there's one positive – I prefer going downhill at 120km an hour in Lycra than being on a stage giving an acceptance speech in front of all you lot!" said the Yorkshireman.
"Seriously, it's a huge honour to win this Award and have so many great legends recognising what I've achieved."
Pidcock is one of the few cyclists to have won prizes at the Laureus awards throughout its now 25-year history. Former teammate Egan Bernal claimed the Breakthrough of the Year in 2020, and downhill mountain biker Rachel Atherton was also named Action Sportsperson of the Year in 2017.
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He also won two more Monuments at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia, alongside another Strade Bianche title in one of the greatest cycling seasons ever put together by a rider.
Still, this wasn't enough to win him the main prize of the night, with Swedish-American pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis being named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year after claiming a second Olympic gold medal, more world records, and having been nominated three years in a row.
Pogačar would have become the first cyclist to win the 25-year-old award since Lance Armstrong in 2003, who also won Breakthrough of the Year in 2000. Both of the American's awards are now listed with asterisks, however, having been rescinded following his 2013 admission of doping.
Pogačar completed the fabled Triple Crown with victory in the World Championships road race
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
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