Velo d'Or 2021 - Mark Cavendish nominated for Velo d'Or, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic lead the way

Published 08/11/2021 at 15:43 GMT

Twelve cyclists have been nominated for this year's Velo d'Or award: Mark Cavendish, Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Sonny Colbrelli, Harrie Lavreysen, Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Annemiek van Vleuten. Roglic won the Velo d'Or in 2020 and could be set for a repeat.

Mark Cavendish of Great Britain and Deceuninck - Quick Step celebrates winning stage 4 of the 108th Tour de France 2021, a stage of 150 km from Redon to Fougeres

Image credit: Getty Images

Mark Cavendish has been nominated for the 2021 Velo d’Or award, along with Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar and nine other riders.

French cycling magazine Velo Magazine gives the prize out every year to the best performing cyclist of the season.

The full list of nominees is: Cavendish, Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Sonny Colbrelli, Harrie Lavreysen, Roglic, Pogacar, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Annemiek van Vleuten.

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Roglic, who won the award in 2020, may be considered the favourite to scoop the prize, while last year’s runner-up,Roglic's fellow Slovenian Pogacar, is nominated again, as is 2020’s third-place rider Van Aert..

Alaphilippe is on the list, hoping to win back the trophy he claimed in 2019.

Roglic is the Olympic time trial champion and won the 2021 edition of the Vuelta Espana. Pogacar holds the Tour de France, and Ineos Grenadiers’ 24-year-old Colombian Egan Bernal stakes a claim with his win in the Giro d’Italia.

Cavendish may have an outside chance after his surprise career resurgence. A late replacement for Sam Bennett at the Tour de France as the team’s sprinter, he won four stages at the Tour and equalled Eddy Merckx’s 34-stage victory record. He also won four stages at the Tour of Turkey earlier this season.

Van Vleuten, who won gold in the Olympic time trial in Tokyo and also won the season-long UCI Women's WorldTour, is the only woman nominee for this season, and there has yet to be a woman who finished in the top three of the voting.

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