2019 Season Awards - Best Classics Rider
Who doesn't love the classics or one-day races? They usually give us the best racing action and often produce unexpected heroes. This is my favorite category because there are plenty of different types of riders who can compete for this title. You have the cobbles specialists, the puncheurs, the fast men and also the climbers.
Here are the nominees for the Best Classics Rider of 2019:
Julian Alaphilippe
Alaphilippe won his first monument this year when he outsprinted a select group on the Via Roma. It was he who forced that selection and was able to finish it off in style. He denied Fuglsang in both Strade Bianche and Fleche Wallone to cap of a stellar spring. He also recorded a runner-up position in De Brabrantse Pijl and a fourth at Amstel.
Jakob Fuglsang
Fuglsang followed Alaphilippe like a shadow for much of the spring. Ultimately he was able to shake everyone off his tail in Liege-Bastogne-Liege to add his name to the list of monument winners. As mentioned above, he just missed out at Strade Bianche and Fleche Wallone, he also made it onto the Amstel podium and finished 4th in Il Lombardia. 2019 has easily been the best season of Birdsong's career.
Greg van Avermaet
According to UCI rankings, Greg is the top one-day racer this year. He has achieved that by sheer consistency while only winning once (Montreal). He also managed to get on the podium in Omloop Het Niewsblad, E3, San Sebastian and Quebec and had numberous other top 10s. Yet, the coveted Ronde title still eludes him.
Mathieu van der Poel
I don't think you would forgive me if I left MVDP out. In his limited road appearances he managed to win 4 one-day events including the memorable Amstel Gold Race and the slightly less prestigious Dwars door Vlaanderen, De Brabantse Pijl and GP Denain. And don't forget his incredible 4th in de Ronde where he overcame a crash that would leave most others with a broken collarbone.
Elia Viviani
It may surprise you that Elia has won no less than 4 one-day events in 2019. While none of them are monuments, they are also no SSRs. These wins include Hamburg Cyclassics, Ride London, Cadel Evans GORR and the European Championships. I was particularly impressed by the way he won that Euro title on a tricky day with a lot of wind and flat-out racing.
Please vote and let's have some debate on who should have been on this list instead of any of my picks. Also check out the previous polls: