Marc Madiot praises Tadej Pogačar's 'sense of history' of cycling, but picks Wout van Aert as his favourite

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates pictured in action during the men elite race of the 'Paris-Roubaix' one day cycling race, 259,2 km from Compiegne to Roubaix, France, on Sunday 13 April 2025. BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS (Photo by JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP).

Never shy about sharing his opinions - good or bad - on riders and other teams, longstanding Groupama-FDJ manager Marc Madiot was surprisingly complimentary on Tadej Pogačar at the Vélo d'Or awards on Friday night.

At the event held in Paris, Pogačar was awarded two trophies to close his superlative 2025 season, which included a fourth Tour de France title, a second consecutive rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Rwanda, the European road title, a fifth straight Il Lombardia win, and many other victories. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider also took the wins in the one-day races Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.