Two Laureus Nominations: Road Cycling's Growing Mainstream Visibility and the Promotion Landscape in Taiwan

The cycling world has a long-running self-deprecating joke: we are a very large niche.

The number of participants is large, the industry’s output value is high, and the sport’s competitive history spans over a century. Yet, step outside the cycling bubble, and most people’s knowledge of road cycling terms stops at “Tour de France.”

So when Tadej Pogačar was nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in both 2025 and 2026, the significance went far beyond personal accolades.

Why the Laureus nomination is a signal

What makes the Laureus World Sports Awards unique is that it is cross-sport. The shortlist simultaneously features top athletes from tennis, athletics, football, motorsport, swimming, and other disciplines. The frame of reference isn’t “who rode the best this year,” but rather “whose performance deserves to be seen the most across all sports this year.”

For a road cyclist to be placed on that list means: his achievements have been understood by people outside the cycling world.

And it happened two years in a row.

Supporting these two nominations are two very easy-to-tell stories

Achievements that break out of the bubble usually share one trait: they can be summed up in one sentence, and the listener goes “wow.”

Look at what Pogačar did in those two years:

2025

• First rider in history to defend both the Tour de France and the World Championships in the same year
• Won 3 Monuments in a single season, only the 2nd rider ever to do so
• Took career win No. 100 on Stage 4 of the Tour de France
• First European Championship title in 2025

2026

• Fifth Tour de France title, becoming the 5th rider ever to reach five wins, tying Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain for the most all-time
• Won 5 stages at that Tour alone (S3, S6, S10, S14, S19)
• On Stage 19 at Alpe d’Huez, Reuters timed him at 35 minutes 27 seconds, reporting it as a record-breaking effort, more than a minute faster than Marco Pantani’s old mark
• First career Milan-San Remo win (beating Tom Pidcock by half a wheel in the final 200 meters)
• 3rd Tour of Flanders title, 4th Liège-Bastogne-Liège title
• 4th Strade Bianche title (event record)

“Five Tours, tied for the most in history” — you don’t need to understand road cycling to grasp that. “Record-breaking time up Alpe d’Huez” — pair that with a video, and anyone can feel the intensity.

That’s the threshold for breaking out of the bubble: the story has to be compressible into a single sentence.

Why road cycling is so hard for the mainstream to see

Even with results like these, road cycling carries far less weight in mainstream media than football, basketball, or tennis. The reasons are structural:

Conversely, this also explains why “one-sentence achievements” matter so much: when audiences have no time to build context, the only thing that cuts through is the kind of huge number that needs no explanation.

Taiwan’s promotional situation in comparison

Bringing this logic back to Taiwan, the situation is a bit nuanced.

Our strengths

• World-class industrial foundation: carbon frames, drivetrain systems, wheelsets, components — Taiwan carries enormous weight in the global supply chain
• Top-tier terrain: Wuling is a sacred mountain for Asian cyclists; the Beiyi Highway, Fengguizui, Yangjin P-shaped mountain road, and the Four Heavenly Kings all offer both difficulty and scenery
• A sizable riding population: on weekends, the density of cyclists along coastal highways, riverside paths, and mountain roads is far from low

Our gaps

• Lack of a “one-sentence achievement”: we don’t have an international result anchor that makes non-cyclists go “wow”
• Sparse race broadcasting: how many local races would an average person stumble upon on TV or streaming platforms?
• Narrative disconnect: the public image of cycling in Taiwan sits mainly at the two ends of “healthy leisure” and “manufacturing,” leaving the “competitive sport” story in the middle almost empty
• Unclear career path: a talented young person can hardly see a predictable professional trajectory

So what can be done?

Honestly, this isn’t an article that can offer policy solutions. But there are a few things the cycling community can do on its own:

1. Tell the stories of local routes — every mountain road has its first ascent, its fastest time, its legends. Stories are built through accumulation
2. Lower the barrier for newcomers — the first step toward mainstreaming is always “make it understandable for those who don’t get it.” Explain tactics more, build fewer walls of jargon
3. Connect international racing to local experience — what does that 35-and-a-half minutes up Alpe d’Huez feel like translated into the climbing of Wuling? That kind of comparison is far more accessible than raw data
4. Support exposure for local races — viewers bring broadcasting; broadcasting brings sponsorship; sponsorship brings career paths

Summary

• Pogačar received Laureus World Sportsman of the Year nominations in both 2025 and 2026, a visibility signal at the cross-sport level
• What supported the nominations were achievements like “defending the Tour and Worlds in the same year” and “a fifth Tour title tied for the most in history” — achievements that can be told in one sentence
• Road cycling’s difficulty in going mainstream is structural: long races, counterintuitive rules, no home venue, time zones
• Taiwan has world-class industry and terrain; what it lacks is an international result anchor, race exposure, and the narrative accumulation that tells competitive stories

Next time someone asks you “what’s the Tour de France actually about,” maybe don’t start with the yellow jersey. Start with “there’s a guy who rode up Alpe d’Huez in 35 and a half minutes, a minute faster than the record from over twenty years ago.” Mainstreaming often begins with a single sentence people can understand.

Related Reading

• Promoting Road Cycling in Taiwan Through the Pogačar Craze: What Star Power Can Bring, and What We Lack
• 2025 Double Defense: The First Time in History Pogačar Held Both the Tour and the Rainbow Jersey in the Same Year
• Pogačar vs Vingegaard: From Two Straight Tour Runner-Up Finishes to the Century-Old Rivalry Back at the Summit of Five Titles
• A Rider Worth €12 Million a Year: The Commercial Scale of Road Cycling Through Pogačar’s Sponsorship Map