Van Vleuten, Ferrand-Prévot favourites for first-ever women’s Velo d’Or award

Annemiek van Vleuten bites her gold medal and shows off her new rainbow stripes
Annemiek van Vleuten bites her gold medal and shows off her new rainbow stripes (Image credit: Getty Images)

A women's version of the prestigious French Velo d'Or award will be awarded for the first time this winter, with Annemiek van Vleuten and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot the favourites to win it and perhaps take the first-ever combined men's and women's Velo d'Or award.

The Velo d'Or awards are organised by the French magazine Vélo, with a combined category and a separate women's category created for the first time in the magazine's 30-year history after a public outcry last year. The new combined award means it is the first time a woman can win arguably the biggest end-of-season award in the sport.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.