{"id":55338,"title":"Top Spring Classics Rider 2026","description":"Who was Rijden's top rider of the 2026 Spring Classics? Last year, it was Tadej Poga\u010dar ahead of Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen. The top teams were UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Lidl - Trek and Alpecin - Deceuninck. \n\nUno-X Mobility was the best Pro Continental team, with the plucky triers from St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 the best UCI Continental team. Worst-placed World Tour team Ark\u00e9a - B&B Hotels folded at the end of the season.\n\nWe\u2019ll be updating our league tables as the season progresses until after Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and we\u2019ll announce the final winners - and losers.","content":"

Published in<\/strong>: COBBLES & CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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Who was Rijden's top rider of the 2026 Spring Classics? Last year, it was Tadej Poga\u010dar ahead of Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen.<\/p>

But who was this year\u2019s King of the Spring Classics? Was it Poga\u010dar<\/strong>, Van Aert<\/strong>, or Van der Poel<\/strong>? Between them, they won all of Spring\u2019s Monuments and seven of our twenty counting races.<\/p>

\"TadejTadej Poga\u010dar and Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix. Image: <\/em>@helene_cyclingpix<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Why do we think unsung Axel Huens<\/strong> is a bit of a hero? And which were the best and worst-performing teams? We cast our eye over both the under and the overachievers. Which riders and races impressed us the most?<\/p>

We like facts here at Rijden, so we\u2019ve run the results of twenty of the one-day races through our supercomputer to come up with the definitive answers on who was the top dog and who were the also-rans.<\/p>

With many thanks to <\/span>@helene_cyclingpix <\/em><\/strong><\/a>for the amazing images.<\/span><\/p>

Rijden\u2019s Spring Classics League<\/h2>

Which Spring Classics count?<\/h3>

As this is our league table, we decide which races are included. We\u2019ve tried to reflect the consensus on what constitutes a Spring Classic. Cycling\u2019s Spring Classics season starts with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and ends with Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and we only consider one-day races as qualifying for Spring Classic status.<\/p>

We include all the World Tour races, which incorporate four of the monuments: Milano Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.<\/p>

Then we add in all the Belgian 1.Pro races, as the Spring Classics are primarily about Belgium. We also add Le Samyn because, although only ranked as a UCI 1.1 race, it has all the characteristics of a Belgian classic. Finally, we add Milano-Torino as the oldest classic and Grand Prix de Denain because it\u2019s like a mini Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>

\"OliverOliver Naesen at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Image: <\/em>@helene_cyclingpix<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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Points scoring<\/h3>

We use the UCI points from these races to determine who the top rider and team are. We also add sub-categories for the best-cobbled classics rider and best rider of the Flandrian classics.<\/p>

Although there\u2019s no official definition of a cycling Monument, the UCI recognises their importance and awards the highest points to the four Monuments that occur during Spring.<\/p>

Here\u2019s how the points are allocated using the UCI\u2019s points system:<\/p>