Tadej is finishing an exceptional year with yet another prestigious award: the French sports daily L’Équipe has declared him the world champion of champions. In the vote by sports journalists from all over the world he received 821 points, followed by Swedish pole vaulter and world record holder Armand Duplantis (799 points) and tennis world number one, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (252). In the women’s category, the title of the best of 2025 went to Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who won four gold medals at the World Championships in Singapore.
Tadej, who was also declared the world athlete of the year by the Spanish sports newspaper Marca, has become only the second cyclist to receive the title Champion des Champions, which has been awarded since 1975. Before him, in 1989, it was received by American Greg LeMond, a three‑time Tour winner. Many major global sports superstars have been honored with this prestigious award in the past. In a special interview for L’Équipe, Tadej revealed that he never expected to find himself among them.
»I see some very cool names. Champions … I am very honored and happy to be part of this list,« said Tadej, who was also asked which of the past winners he would like to exchange a few words with. »With all of them! But then there is Michael Jordan, who was incredibly strong. And Usain Bolt, of whom I was a fan. I notice that Roger Federer was also crowned several times. I don’t see Cristiano Ronaldo, but only Lionel Messi. Why? Serena Williams, Simone Biles … The list of award-winners is impressive. Roger Federer embodied elegance. And now that I’m a bit older, I’m a fan of Novak Djokovic. They’re all really very different, from Federer’s style to Djokovic’s mentality of an unshakeable hard worker, which I myself don’t have. Let’s say I’m somewhere in between,« answered Tadej, who does not consider himself one of the world’s biggest sports stars: »Honestly, I wouldn’t put myself on that list. I can’t place myself that high.«
In the interview for L’Équipe, he also spoke about the fact that, for him, the key to success is that cycling is still, in a way, just a game. »Everyone has to do what they love. If you do what you love, you also have to enjoy it. If you take it as a game, I’m convinced that everything works better. Obviously, it’s different than it was ten years ago, but I still love this sport, it’s part of my life and I don’t see myself doing anything else,« added Tadej, who has celebrated 20 victories this year. He won his fourth Tour de France, a second consecutive world champion title, his first European champion title, and he also took three of the five Monuments.
»There is always room for improvement, to figure out how I can become even better, how far I can go. That’s why it’s not hard to find motivation, especially because I know that I have a long contract with my team and many years ahead of me. And when you’re getting good results, motivation comes easily. It’s harder when you don’t win much or don’t win at all,« Tadej added.
As he revealed at the training camp of his team UAE Team Emirates – XRG in Benidorm, he will start the 2026 season on March 7 at the Strade Bianche race. In what will be his eighth season among professionals, he will be chasing a fifth Tour victory and a third consecutive world champion title, and already in the spring he will try for the first time to win the Milano–Sanremo and Paris–Roubaix races.