| # | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | POGAČAR Tadej | ||
| 2 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | ||
| 3 | PEDERSEN Mads | ||
| 4 | VAN AERT Wout | ||
| 5 | MATTHEWS Michael | ||
| 6 | POWLESS Neilson | ||
| 7 | GANNA Filippo | ||
| 8 | PIDCOCK Thomas | ||
| 9 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | ||
| 10 | BENOOT Tiesj |
| # | Season | Rider | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 | POGAČAR Tadej | |
| 2 | 2017 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | |
| 3 | 1984 | KELLY Sean | |
| 4 | 2011 | GILBERT Philippe | |
| 5 | 2024 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu |
While only one rider can officially win the King of Spring ranking, this spring season undeniably had two superstars. One is Tadej Pogačar, the other goes by the name Mathieu van der Poel. The pair split the spoils in the four Monuments raced so far this year: two wins each. The Slovenian triumphed in Flanders and Liège, while the Dutchman claimed victory in Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix.
With those results, both riders continue their climb up the all-time list of Monument victories. Pogačar now sits at nine, drawing level with legends like Girardengo, Coppi, and Kelly - riders widely regarded as the best of their generation and among the greatest of all time. Van der Poel now has eight Monument wins, moving past the iconic duo of Boonen and Cancellara - the very riders he succeeded as the undisputed king of the cobbled classics.
Both riders have won 3 out of 5 Monument and each one of those more than once.
| # | Rider | Wins | MSR | RVV | RBX | LBL | LOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MERCKX Eddy | 19 | |||||
| 2 | DE VLAEMINCK Roger | 11 | |||||
| 3 | GIRARDENGO Costante | 9 | |||||
| 3 | COPPI Fausto | 9 | |||||
| 3 | KELLY Sean | 9 | |||||
| 3 | POGAČAR Tadej | 9 | |||||
| 4 | VAN LOOY Rik | 8 | |||||
| 4 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | 8 | |||||
| 5 | BARTALI Gino | 7 | |||||
| 5 | BOONEN Tom | 7 |
Sticking with Pogi for a moment longer, we came across another remarkable stat. In La Flèche Wallonne — which he won — the UAE rider was the oldest cyclist in the top 10. And that at just 26 years old (!). Every other rider who finished in the top 10 on the Mur de Huy was younger — in some cases, significantly so. Which got us wondering: are we seeing more and more young riders cracking the top 10 in the spring classics?
The short answer: yes. Over the past four years (2021–2025), roughly one-third of all top-10 finishers in the spring classics were under the age of 25. That’s the highest percentage in at least the last 35 years.
By the way, when looking only at WorldTour races and their historical equivalents, the contrast becomes even more striking. Before 2021, the percentage of under-25 riders in top 10s drops below 20%, while the share of U25's riders from 2021 to 2025 (over 30%) stays virtually unchanged. Fascinating!
^ * = 2020, when a lot of races were cancelled or rescheduled due to Covid
When we talk about young riders, we’re also talking about breakthroughs. And while the 2025 spring classics did bring a few, there weren’t any major, consistent breakout performances like we’ve seen in some past seasons. Looking at this year’s rankings, the first real surprise is Milan Fretin at 18th place. Beyond that, the top 20 is largely filled with the usual suspects.
A few standout results are worth mentioning, though: Michael Matthews, who claimed his second-ever spring classic win at Eschborn-Frankfurt and impressively ranks fifth overall; the return of Wout van Aert to the top five; Neilson Powless putting in a strong spring campaign; Filippo Ganna, who has earned his place not just as a time trial powerhouse but now as a true classics specialist as well; and Thibau Nys, who continues to edge closer to the sport’s elite.
Nine riders claimed their first-ever win in a spring classic this year. Romain Grégoire and Søren Wærenskjold were the first, both taking surprise victories on the day of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Equally surprising was Mattias Skjelmose’s triumph in the Amstel Gold Race, where the Dane pulled off a thrilling and unlikely upset over top favorites Pogačar and Evenepoel after the climb of the Cauberg. Meanwhile, 34-year-old Edward Theuns finally got to raise his arms in victory after years of strong results, winning the Bredene Koksijde Classic.
| 2025-04-20 | SKJELMOSE Mattias | Amstel Gold Race |
| 2025-04-05 | NYS Thibau | Gran Premio Miguel Indurain |
| 2025-04-02 | POWLESS Neilson | Dwars door Vlaanderen - A travers la Flandre ME |
| 2025-03-21 | THEUNS Edward | Bredene Koksijde Classic |
| 2025-03-20 | BRENNAN Matthew | Grand Prix de Denain - Porte du Hainaut |
| 2025-03-19 | EEKHOFF Nils | Danilith Nokere Koerse |
| 2025-03-19 | DEL TORO Isaac | Milano - Torino |
| 2025-03-01 | WÆRENSKJOLD Søren | Omloop Nieuwsblad ME |
Among the other first-time winners are several riders the cycling world expects big things from in future spring campaigns. Chief among them: the meteoric rise of a new talent from the Visma | Lease a Bike development pipeline — Matthew Brennan. The 19-year-old Brit stormed to three consecutive one-day wins in France this March, capped off by a sensational victory at the Grand Prix de Denain, where he outclassed a some seasoned Belgian spring classic regulars.
Also breaking through were the previously mentioned Thibau Nys and climbing prodigy Isaac Del Toro, both of whom opened their spring classics accounts this season. And if their form is anything to go by, these wins are just the beginning.
And then there’s something else we need to talk about. Because alongside the standout performers and breakthrough stars, there were also riders — and entire teams — who simply fell short.
The most glaring example: the star-studded lineup of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe.
The team’s classics squad was massively reinforced over the winter with the additions of Maxim Van Gils, the Van Dijke brothers, Laurence Pithie, Oier Lazkano, and Jan Tratnik - all riders who had either won a spring classic before or were considered capable of doing so. Heading into the season, the squad managed by Ralph Denk and Rolf Aldag was widely seen as one to watch in every major one-day race.
| # | Team | PCS points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | |
| 2 | Lidl - Trek | |
| 3 | Alpecin - Deceuninck | |
| 4 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | |
| 5 | EF Education - EasyPost | |
| 6 | Uno-X Mobility | |
| 7 | Cofidis | |
| 8 | XDS Astana Team | |
| 9 | Groupama - FDJ | |
| 10 | Soudal Quick-Step |
But the reality didn’t come close to meeting expectations. Their total number of classic wins this spring? Zero. Zero! That’s well below what anyone anticipated.
In the ranking where we tally the points of all riders per team, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe only shows up in 20th place — far behind teams with, on paper, much less impressive spring classics line-ups.
One telling stat: Lazkano’s best result in a spring classic this year was 108th place. Of course, there were some mitigating factors - bad luck, crashes, injuries - but even so, the spring season debrief at Red Bull HQ must have been a tough one.
| Year | MSR | RVV | PR | LBL | LOM | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | 11 | 18 | 7 | ||
| 2024 | 12 | 33 | 8 | 20 | 11 | |
| 2023 | 17 | 20 | 35 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 50 | 16 | 14 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 14 | 57 | 9 | 41 |
If we take a look at the same team points statistic for XDS – Astana, we see the opposite trend of what we observed with Red Bull. The Kazakh team has been steadily improving its performance in the spring classics in recent years, with this season standing out as their best yet.
While Alexander Vinokourov’s squad, like the German team, didn’t win a single spring classic, they consistently delivered strong collective performances — often placing multiple riders well in the same race. This allowed them to hold their own among much bigger teams. Naturally, the pursuit of a WorldTour license for the next three seasons plays a major role in both their racing strategy and motivation within the light-blue outfit.
© Article thumbnail: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
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