After only recently returning to training following his crash at La Vuelta Ciclista a España, UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s Tadej Pogačar still stands at the summit of the Men Elite individual UCI World Ranking after his historic achievements from March to August.
The Slovenian star tops the standings for the sixth year in a row with a tally of 9,331.75 points, some 2,000 more than runner-up, Remco Evenepoel (7,191.61 points). While the Slovenian scored most of his points in stage races (5,791.75 points), Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe’s Belgian leader dominated the One Day Race UCI World Ranking with 4,282.86 points.
Pogačar and Evenepoel stand ahead of two wonderkids. In third place at 23 years old, UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s Isaac Del Toro scored just a handful more points than France’s Paul Seixas, who recently made history as the youngest-ever winner of Il Lombardia just two weeks after celebrating his 20th birthday. Pogačar’s Mexican teammate racked up 5,606.46 points against 5,580.38 points for Decathlon CMA CGM’s leader.
Thrilling spring action
Evenepoel’s victory at last Sunday’s Chrono des Nations in France neatly book-ended the season, after he’d enjoyed so much winter success. By early February, he’d already secured six wins thanks to a flawless Spanish start to the year: the Trofeo Ses Salines, Trofeo Serra Tramuntana, Trofeo Andratx-Pollença and the overall standings of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana with two stage wins.
Meanwhile, Pogačar returned to competition in Italy with two March bangs: a fourth victory at Strade Bianche, with an 80km solo masterclass to top the podium ahead of Seixas and Del Toro, and a first victory in Milano - Sanremo.
His first clash with Evenepoel came a couple of weeks later, at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and the duo didn’t disappoint. After an all-out battle, Pogačar ruled the Flanders Monument for the third time (after 2023 and 2025) while Evenepoel made the podium (third behind Mathieu van der Poel) in his maiden participation.
The pair also finished first and third, respectively, at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (with Seixas in second position) as the Slovenian took his 13th Monument win: one Milano - Sanremo; three Ronde van Vlaanderen; four Liège-Bastogne-Liège; and five Il Lombardia. The only missing piece from Pogačar’s unique jigsaw remains Paris - Roubaix, a race in which he finished second for the second consecutive year, this time to Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).
Evenepoel completed his spring campaign with victory in the Amstel Gold Race, and returned to one-day races with a spectacular run at the end of the season: winner of the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, the UCI individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, the UEC European Championships road race and the Chrono des Nations, alongside top-five results at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (fifth) and Il Lombardia (fourth).
Historic achievements in stage races
If Pogačar saw one Classic escape his clutches in the spring, his record in stage races proved flawless until his withdrawal at La Vuelta Ciclista a España. Just two days after his success in Liège, he headed to the Tour de Romandie, one of the few UCI WorldTour events missing from his palmares. Not for long: he won four stages en route to overall success ahead of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain - Victorious). Switzerland had more in store for him as he also won the Tour de Suisse in his debut participation with three stage wins and a winning gap of six-and-a-half minutes over Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).
The Tour de France was a much more familiar setting for the rider who had won the race four times (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025) when he lined up for the Grand Départ in Barcelona, Spain. His historic rival, Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), powered to the first maillot jaune in the wake of his Giro d’Italia victory in May. But UAE Team Emirates - XRG swiftly regained control: Del Toro won stage two ahead of his Slovenian leader, who powered to the yellow jersey the next day at Les Angles. With further stage wins at Gavarnie-Gèdre, Le Lioran, Le Markstein and Alpe d’Huez, Pogačar secured his fifth overall success to match the record set by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
By his side on the podium in Paris, Del Toro (third) wore the white jersey as the best young rider, as had Pogačar from 2020 until 2023. Between the two UAE Team Emirates - XRG stars, Evenepoel stood second with two stage wins under his belt.
After Vingegaard became the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours thanks to his victory in the Giro d’Italia, Pogačar headed to La Vuelta to emulate his feat. He took La Roja, the overall leader’s jersey, from day one and had built a significant lead when he hit the deck on stage eight. Movistar Team’s Enric Mas seized the opportunity to become the first Spanish winner of La Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014. Pogačar’s quest for the most comprehensive list of achievements in road cycling history will require further attempts.