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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Saar's Pedal Passion Awards! We’re continuing our celebration of women's cycling excellence, with three more awards to present this week.
Each week, we highlight the achievements and memorable moments from the season, leading up to our final award for the Best Rider.
Remember, each rider, situation, or cycling staff member can only win one trophy per year.
So, grab a seat and enjoy the excitement as we unveil today’s award winners!
Oops I Did It Again
Recognizes the rider who consistently makes the same tactical mistakes or decisions, demonstrating persistence despite less-than-favorable outcomes.
The "Oops, I Did It Again" award was invented because of Mavi Garcia herself. Who knows, maybe next year it’ll even be renamed the "Mavi Garcia Award"... ;-) For those who don’t know why she got this award, let me explain. Mavi Garcia is a really talented climber, she may not be in the top 5 in the world, and she might not be in her prime anymore (she’s one of the most experienced riders in the peloton, if you get what I mean... ;-)). But one thing she always does, for some reason, is lead the group for kilometer, burning through energy well before the favorites start their attacks. She often ends up unable to keep up, finishing 6th or 7th. I’d love to see Mavi hold back, just once, to save that energy. Imagine what could happen if she surprised us with a late attack, embracing the motto: "You can't win if you're afraid of losing.".
So here’s me, being optimistic and hoping we’ll see Mavi Garcia switch things up next year. Do I believe it? Nah, not really, but hey, new year, new you, @mavi! :-)
Winner of the 'Oops, I Did It Again Award 2024': Mavi Garcia
Congrats, Mavi! (Though I’m not entirely sure if that’s the right thing to say in this context... ;-))
Surprise Sensation
For the Biggest Surprise of the season.
Surprises, there were plenty this year. Think about Vollering leaving SD Worx, or Kopecky taking 2nd in the Giro GC without it even being a goal. But really, only one overshadowed all the others! It was one of, if not the greatest rider in women’s cycling history, making her comeback.
After serving as a DS in the Team SD Worx - Protime car for four years and witnessing how women’s cycling grew in the media, in iconic races and among fans. She decided it was time to return in 2025.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Anna; she was a legendary rider who won just about everything there was to win. But we have to keep in mind that the women’s peloton and rider level have both come a long way since then.
Whether she’ll take any wins is uncertain, but one thing we do know: she’s the clear
winner of this year’s Surprise Sensation Award!
Winner of 'The Surprise Sensation Award 2024': Anna van der Breggen
Congrats, Anna!
Laughter on Two Wheels
Awarded to the Funniest Moment in cycling this season.
Cycling is drama, cycling is passion, cycling is grit and determination, cycling is losing more than winning, cycling is heroic. But next to all that, it’s the endless funny moments, wild interviews, and questionable tactics that truly make cycling what it is. So, if I’m handing out awards, there’s no way I’d skip one for the funniest moment of the season hence, Laughter on Two Wheels.
For me, there was no question that Julie De Wilde had to win this one. I mean, celebrating your leader’s world championship title only to drop her on the podium, in front of the entire crowd, countless photographers, and a huge TV audience? Absolutely priceless. I could talk about other contenders, but honestly, nothing else comes close. So, all that’s left to say is...
Winner of 'The Laughter on Two Wheels Award 2024': Julie De Wilde (ft. Lotte Kopecky)
Congrats, Julie!
Thanks for reading my blog today! After a little break, we're getting closer to the climax, the award for the best rider of the year. There’s just one awards blog left before we get there, so I hope to see you in the next one!
Don’t forget, you can always send me your suggestions and questions, and let me know if you notice any typos via this chat function or DMs on my socials. See you next week? <3
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