Riders to Watch 2022

This really is a golden age for pro cycling, with so many exciting cyclists with attacking instincts riding at a high level. There is no better time to start getting into it. Identifying riders can be difficult – we often see them from a distance with their heads and faces covered, even confusing the commentators sometimes, but here are some of the best to follow and get to know:

Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia – backed up his Tour de France win in 2019 with a very dominant repeat in 2020, winning by more than 5mins. Not only that, he bagged two Monuments (Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia) and indications are he’s going to have a tilt at Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders in 2022. Pogačar is the standout three-week road cyclist in the world and barring injury or illness will be difficult to beat again come July.

Primož Roglič, Slovenia – almost 10 years older than his fellow Slovenian, Roglič is the likeliest challenger to Pogačar in the Tour, especially following Egan Bernal’s early season horror crash. Super consistent, the former ski jumper (which has to be mentioned whenever he’s on telly) put his disappointment from crashing out early at last year’s Tour behind him to land the Olympic time trial title as well as his third Vuelta win in a row.

Julian Alaphilippe, France – one of the most charismatic and dynamic riders of the current generation, ‘Loulou’ defended his world championship title in Belgium at the end of 2021 and will therefore wear the coveted rainbow stripes for another season. Although he hasn’t entirely ruled it out, indications are that he’s unlikely to have another tilt at the Tour de France general classification this year as he did in 2019 and stage hunt instead which ought to make for some exciting racing.

Mathieu van der Poel, Netherlands – the Dutch phenom is from impressive cycling stock – both his father and maternal grandfather were top class pro bike riders – but Mathieu might end up eclipsing both of them. Van der Poel can lay down such explosive power on the bike that very few, if any, can live with him. The incredible double attack on stage 2 of last year’s Tour which allowed him to take not just the stage but the yellow jersey that his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, never managed to wear was one of the highlights of the year. His preparation for the 2022 season has been hindered by a long-standing back injury.

Wout van Aert, Belgium – is there anything that Van Aert can’t do? At last year’s Tour, Van Aert won a mountain stage, a time trial, and then capped off an incredible demonstration of his all-round ability by winning the final sprint on the Champs-Élysées. He’ll be focussing on the Spring Classics before his attention turns to the Tour where once again Jumbo-Visma will have to weigh up giving Van Aert his own opportunities whilst maintaining focus on their main goal of delivering Roglič for the overall.

Egan Bernal, Colombia – looked set to dominate the Tour de France for years to come when becoming the youngest winner in over 100 years in 2019. Little did he know that Pogacar would break that record a year later and cycling looked like it was moving on at breakneck speed. However, Bernal’s career came to a shuddering halt in January with a horror crash when out training on his TT bike that left him with almost 20 fractures and a real risk of being paralysed. Luckily he wasn’t, but who knows when and at what level Bernal can return to.

Remco Evenepoel, Belgium – one of the biggest young talents in cycling, Evenpoel was off the bike for eight months after breaking his pelvis in Il Lombardia in 2020. Still only 22, the Belgian superstar has come back with some impressive performances and started the season with a win in the Volta ao Algarve. He’s sure to be challenging in one-day and stage races for years to come and with his time trial abilities can be a big threat in Grand Tours too.

Filippo Ganna, Italy – the best time trial rider in the world and a real powerhouse at 6ft 4in and nearly 80kg. But he’s no slouch going uphill either as he demonstrated with a remarkable mountain stage win at the Giro in 2020 along with several other impressive domestique performances. Whether he’ll decide to trim down and target stage race victories for himself is an open question, but he’s clearly a massive talent.

Richard Carapaz, Ecuador – winner of the Giro d’Italia in 2019 before moving to Ineos. It looks like he’ll try to regain that title in 2022 despite the loss of Egan Bernal which opened up a team leader slot in the Tour. Wherever he goes, Carapaz is a serious GC player and simply one of the best stage racers in the world.

Tom Pidcock, Great Britain – the young Yorkshireman who has seemed destined for the top since a stellar junior career on and off-road. He’s showed his versatility in the last year by winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in mountain biking as well as winning the world cyclocross title. On the road, Pidock has the strength to compete in one-day races and classics, but he can also climb and time trial, making him a likely Grand Tour threat in years to come.

Peter Sagan, Slovakia – still one of the biggest names in cycling, for the last decade Sagan’s ability to sprint but also get over some pretty mountainous terrain meant he dominated the Tour’s points competition and made the green jersey his own. On top of multiple Grand Tour stage wins, he wore the rainbow jersey (for winning the World Championship road race) for three years running. He’s dropped down to ProTeam TotalEnergies for 2022 and more riders display the same qualities that made him unique for so long these days, and the jury is out as to whether he can rediscover former glories.

Miguel Ángel López, Colombia – “Superman” López has four Grand Tour stage wins and two overall podiums to his name. He appears to get involved in more than his fair share of incidents including a meltdown at last year’s Vuelta when a place on the podium disappeared up the road on the penultimate stage. Angered by a perceived lack of team support, he promptly abandoned and ultimately left his Movistar team to return to Astana.

Geraint Thomas, Great Britain – spent years as a super domestique at Team Sky/Ineos, so it was particularly nice to see the Welshman win it himself in 2018. “G”, as he is known, often seems prone to bad luck and falls – he was looking good in the Giro in 2017 only for most of his team to be taken out by a badly parked police motorbike, and in 2020 slid on a bouncing bidon, breaking his hip in a Giro eventually won by his teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart. With Bernal out injured, 2022 may hand Thomas a final opportunity to compete for GC at the Tour, though almost certainly as a co-leader/backup to Adam Yates and/or Dani Martínez.

Simon Yates, Great Britain – looked destined to win the Giro d’Italia in 2018 only to crack on stage 19 whilst in the pink jersey, but showed immense mental strength to return later in the year and win his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España. He’s ridden for the Australian outfit Team BikeExchange (formerly Orica Greenedge and Mitchelton Scott) since 2014 – his whole pro career – and is a major GC threat wherever he lines up, which will almost certainly be back at the Giro for another crack at vanquishing those 2018 memories.

Adam Yates, Great Britain – Simon’s twin brother made the move to Ineos Grenadiers in 2021 having spent six years with his brother in the Australian team. Adam won the young rider classification and finished fourth overall in the Tour de France in 2016 which remains his best Grand Tour performance, however, in the absence of Egan Bernal, Ineos are said to be ‘all in’ to support Yates’ Tour ambitions once again in 2022.

Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark – burst into contention as a genuine Grand Tour GC contender in the 2021 Tour with a runners-up spot on the podium. Vingegaard went into the Tour as a domestique to Primož Roglič and took over leadership after the Slovenian’s abandonment. Jumbo-Visma have indicated that both will target the Tour again in 2022 but with the Dane elevated to a joint-leadership role.

Sprinters

Fabio Jakobsen, Netherlands – arguably the fastest sprinter in the world at the moment which is remarkable considering the horrific crash he suffered in the Tour of Poland in 2020 which left him in an induced coma and fighting for his life. With teammate Mark Cavendish pencilled in for the Giro, Jakobsen is set to make his Tour debut in July, though as we saw last year much can change before then.

Dylan Groenewegen, Netherlands – banned for nine months for causing the awful crash in Poland, Groenewegen has also come back to something approaching his best but not quite so impressively as Jakobsen. Groenewegen made a surprise switch to BikeExchange in the off-season who are unlikely to focus on GC in the Tour so he should get good leadout support and renew his rivalry with Jakobsen.

Mark Cavendish, Great Britain – made a remarkable return to form last year winning four stages and the green jersey at the Tour when his career looked all but over. An injury to Sam Bennett allowed Cav to take his place on the startlist then and he may need similar good fortune this year with Fabio Jacobsen being Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s first choice sprinter, but who would right off Cav after last year’s exploits?

Caleb Ewan, Australia – the “Pocket Rocket” sprints really low on the bike, reminiscent of Mark Cavendish, giving him an aero advantage over other bigger sprinters. Ewan has been working on his climbing legs which should make him a leading contender for Milan-San Remo and the World Championships at the end of the year in his native Australia, but you wouldn’t rule him out landing a few Grand Tour stages in between.

Sam Bennett, Ireland – was arguably the world’s fastest sprinter in 2020 when he landed the green jersey at the Tour, but injury and an acrimonious departure from Deceuninck-QuickStep a year later has seen him drop down the pecking order somewhat. Now back at Bora – where previously he struggled for opportunities at the big races due to Peter Sagan’s presence – he’ll be looking to prove certain people wrong this season.

Jasper Philipsen, Belgium – has established himself at the top table of sprinters over the last couple of years with multiple one-day race wins and three wins at the Vuelta. Philipsen also did everything but win at the 2021 Tour with six top-three finishes and was unlucky to be up against an inspired Cavendish. He’s marked a Tour stage victory as his big goal for the season.

Tim Merlier, Belgium – now in his 30th year, Philipsen’s Alpecin-Fenix teammate has blossomed into a top-tier sprinter relatively late in his career but has proved time and again what a big-time performer he is, winning the opening sprint stage of both the Giro and the Tour in 2021. Alpecin-Fenix took both Merlier and Philipsen to the Tour last year and it proved successful so they may well do the same in 2022 where both will be big threats in the fast finishes.