Since the start of the 2020s, a select elite of just half a dozen riders have sat at the top of the cycling world for so long now that years have passed since the moniker describing them as the ‘Big Six’ was coined.
In the Grand Tours, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič have won prolifically and reigned supreme; Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are a league ahead of the rest of the field in the Classics; Remco Evenepoel combines winning stage races and hilly one-day races with being untouchable in the time trials; and Tadej Pogačar is the best at, well, pretty much everything.
Their dominance is reflected in statistics. Of the 15 Grand Tours held since the start of 2020 between them, they’ve won 12 of them. And in the 24 Monuments to have taken place in that time, they account for 17 wins – a rate that has grown even more prolific recently, with 14 of the last 17 shared between them.
But their supremacy can’t last forever. Age will eventually diminish their powers, especially now as Van Aert and Van der Poel join Roglič in being in their 30s. Whether it’s a new generation of prodigies set to emerge, improving riders primed for a major breakthrough, or great talents hoping to return to their best, there are plenty of riders in the peloton who could threaten the Big Six this season. We consider six of the most likely candidates.
JUAN AYUSO
As far back as 2022, when, at the tender age of just nineteen, he became the second youngest rider in history to make the podium of a Grand Tour by finishing third at the Vuelta a España, Juan Ayuso has looked poised for stardom. In the years, he’s proved he can do everything required of a top Grand Tour contender, from climbing and time trialling to sprinting for bonus points and maintaining form over three weeks. Still, he suffered a setback when Covid forced him to abandon his Tour de France debut last year and has struggled to fulfil personal ambitions while sharing a team with Tadej Pogačar. This year, though, he looks set for a leadership role at the Giro d’Italia, where he could become only the second rider in almost three years who isn’t Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglič or Evenepoel to win a Grand Tour.
JASPER PHILIPSEN
Such has been the success of Jasper Philipsen these past two years that the Belgian may feel aggrieved that it’s not a Big Seven referred to by fans and the media. He’s been the most prolific sprinter in the world these past two years, winning more races than anyone else in that time other than Pogačar, while also excelling in the Classics, triumphing at Milan-Sanremo and twice finishing runner-up at Paris-Roubaix. If he can continue to develop yet further — maybe regaining his green jersey title or going one better and winning Paris-Roubaix — he surely then won’t continue to be overlooked.
FILIPPO GANNA
Now, at the end of the Olympic cycle, Filippo Ganna is shifting his focus exclusively to the road, which should spread concern among the Big Six. Ganna has, throughout his career, divided his time between road and track, but this year, he’s going all in on the former. So we could see an even more powerful version of the big Italian. Among his main aims will be reclaiming his status as the best time trialist in the world from Remco Evenepoel, while he’s also planning to commit fully to both Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix — Monuments he has in the past shown he has the raw potential to win, finishing second in the former and sixth in the latter.
THIBAU NYS
Since the astonishing way Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel burst onto the road scene at the end of the last decade, it’s been tempting to look at the cyclo-cross circuit to detect who the next star of Classics racing on the road will be. Could that man be Thibau Nys? As son of Sven Nys, the 22-year-old is already part of cyclo-cross royalty and has followed in the footsteps of Van der Poel and Van Aert by winning World titles at junior and under-23 (albeit not yet senior) level. His form last year during his breakthrough season on the road, which included multiple WorldTour stage wins at the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse and Tour of Poland, certainly suggests he could, though may be geared more towards the punchy and Ardennes Classics, rather than direct showdowns with Van der Poel and Van Aert on the cobbles.
ISAAC DEL TORO
Having wowed the world with his form during the 2024 season at the age of just 20, who’s to say how high the ceiling is for Isaac del Toro’s sophomore campaign? He competed alongside some of the world’s very best in the GC races at both Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque Country and finished the year by successfully completing his first-ever Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España. He looks guaranteed to be a star and, as a Mexican, potentially one who transcends the sport the same way Eritrean Biniam Girmay has. Given how young riders are increasingly fast-tracked to the biggest races these days, maybe he’ll already be a force in the biggest races — including the Giro d’Italia in May.
EGAN BERNAL
Unlike the other riders on this list, Egan Bernal’s career isn’t in the ascendency, having enjoyed his major titles at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia before his horror crash in 2022. Those past results are proof that he has the ingrained talent; the question is whether he can ever return to that level again. At 28, he still has age on his side, and, though still a long way off from being able to compete with the Big Six, high WorldTour GC results last year, like fourth at the Tour de Suisse and third at Volta a Catalunya was a significant jump from his previous season. Another, bigger leap forward could see him back at their level this year.
