Matthew Brennan and Zoe Bäckstedt have been named Cycling Weekly’s Riders of the Year for 2025 – the top honours in our annual awards, given to the best-performing British male and female riders throughout the season.
Both riders were judged to have shown outstanding consistency this year; Brennan won a remarkable 14 races in his first season as a pro, while Bäckstedt claimed three world titles and dominated in time trials.
For exclusive, feature-length interviews with both riders, pick up a copy of our special awards edition of the magazine – out today. Below is a list of all the winners celebrated.
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Male rider of the year – Matthew Brennan
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In his debut pro year with Visma-Lease a Bike, Brennan won 14 times, a tally bettered by just four other male riders: Tim Merlier, Isaac del Toro, Paul Magnier and world champion Tadej Pogačar.
The Brit began the season 349th in the UCI’s rankings, and ended it 43rd, having jumped more than 300 places. All that, and he only turned 20 in August.
“We came into the start of the season with the goal of trying to win one race, essentially,” Brennan told Cycling Weekly. “Then it spiralled a bit quicker and a bit more than we thought it would.”
Female rider of the year – Zoe Bäckstedt
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This year was one of interdisciplinary dominance for the young Welshwoman. From a double victory at January’s UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, rainbow jerseys collected in the mixed team relay and the under-23 race, she went on to rule supreme in time trials, winning five out of the six she competed in, and earning a national and under-23 world title.
“If I look back [to last year], compared to where I ended the road season [this year], it’s a day-and-night difference,” the Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto rider told Cycling Weekly.
“I had a lot of wins this year, which I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect to win a road race [Baloise Ladies Tour] – that was probably one of the big things, and also to win Nationals… Everything just fell into a good place.”
International rider of the year – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
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Everyone knew that the Frenchwoman – a world champion in four different disciplines – was an exceptional bike rider. As such, very few doubted that her return to the road scene in 2025 after a six-year hiatus would be a success. But no-one could have foreseen the comprehensive glory that she enjoyed this year.
Podium finishes at Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders were perhaps to be expected – after all, short, punchy climbs were what she excelled on during her mountain bike years – but a 58-second victory at Paris-Roubaix, a flat brute of a race devoid of any significant climbing challenges, was not.
Even more unexpected was winning the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on debut, especially in so crushing a manner.
Rising star – Erin Boothman
(Image credit: Andy Jones)
This season, in her final year as a junior, the 18-year-old’s medal collection ballooned in size. Boothman doubled her tally of world titles to four, earned three new European track titles, plus three national titles, all the while stamping her name on three world records: the junior women’s team pursuit, individual pursuit and kilometre time trial.
The Scot knew her form was good when she clean-swept seven out of seven events at a track meet in January. Everything after that, she told Cycling Weekly, was “eye-opening – I couldn’t be happier with how it has gone this year.”
Next season, Boothman will join Liv AlUla Jayco’s development team, before stepping up to the WorldTour squad in 2027.
British domestic rider of the year – Robyn Clay
(Image credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix)
The DAS-Hutchinson rider had a lot of success in 2025. There were five race wins, both the National Road and National Circuit Series, and the inaugural Rapha Super-League too – all by a 21-year-old who had only started racing at elite level a couple of years previously.
“Even being injured at the start of the season was a blessing in disguise, because it forced me to not start too early, and then I was ready at the right time,” she told Cycling Weekly.
The stand-out year has seen Clay earn a transfer to Women’s WorldTour squad Picnic PostNL for 2026.
Lifetime achievement – Pippa York
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“I often tell the story of how I came last in my first race and I was first in my last race, [the 1995 National Championships],” York told Cycling Weekly. “In between, things happened.”
These days most British bike racing fans can easily reel off handfuls of world-beating home nation luminaries. So much so, it’s becoming hard to remember when British cycling had practically zero presence on the Continent. But that’s how it was: in the 1980s, you could count on one hand all the UK riders you might spot at the Tour de France. One rider you most certainly would have included in that tally was Pippa York – known then as Robert Millar.
Glasgow-born York became the most successful British pro in years, with Tour de France stage wins and a historic fourth on GC, plus the mountains classification win in 1984 elevating her to a superstar status among British fans. At the same time, York was enduring a personal struggle with body dysphoria, and ultimately underwent gender transition in the 2010s. She has since forged a successful career as a cycling journalist, drawing on her racing experience to comment insightfully on today’s action.
Local hero – Bhima Bowden
(Image credit: Andy Jones)
In the first of our two reader-nominated awards, Macclesfield Wheelers put Bowden forward for Local Hero with a long testament to his work, from which the below is a short excerpt.
“Bhima runs the weekly hill-climb series in a way that I just don’t think can be topped. Before it starts, he works on photoshoots of every hill, writes compelling narratives about the climbs, and rallies a great team of volunteers. He really supports bringing in people who may not see themselves as traditional racers. While cycling home, we receive individual messages with our time and placement, which then goes into his fancy website and series leaderboard – he truly celebrates everyone.”
Club of the year – Newbury Velo
(Image credit: Newbury Velo)
Newbury Velo’s entry for this year’s Club of the Year award was so comprehensive, so saturated with innovative, inclusive and wide-ranging membership offerings, it was clear right away that they were going to be hard to beat.
Formed in 2020 and already almost 400 members strong, the offers something for everyone, with a time trial series and a summer cyclo-cross series too, plus open time trials and a round of the local Wessex Cyclo-Cross League in winter. And that’s not all; Newbury Velo also organises the Newbury Triathlon, numerous three-day touring trips throughout the year, plus a children’s tour, and trips to Mallorca and the Newport Velodrome.
“We’re not just serious racers,” club chair Simon Bowden told Cycling Weekly. “It gives people a chance to have some fun and not take it too seriously. That’s the key.”
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