In my humble opinion!

I’ve selected a One Day Classic, one Grand Tour and one single day ride within a Grand Tour.

Best 1 Day Classic: Amstel Gold

The 2025 Amstel Gold Race was rather great and absolutely inspirtional due to its thrilling, unpredictable finish where Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) completely upset favourites Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel in a three-man sprint. This effort showcased incredible teamwork and tactics on the classic hilly Dutch roads featuring 34 climbs. The race featured intense action from the start, a solo Pogačar attack, and a dramatic late-race chase by Evenepoel and Skjelmose, making it a proper ol’ slugfest – and for me the best one day race of the season. 

“I was riding for the podium… of course you sprint for the best result, but I thought I was going to cramp, or see them go into the horizon,” said Mattias Skjelmose, showing that the winner himself felt like all of us watching those last kilometres – that he was riding for 3rd place, 2nd at best! 

“The finish was 5 metres too late.” — Tadej Pogačar. Well, you can’t win ’em all Tadi – not yet, anyway…

“I missed racing like this so much. Going all-in or nothing until the last meter.” — Evenepoel was philosophical after his defeat, and i like this attitude.

It was truly a race for the ages, and one of the greatest finales of recent times. 

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Best Grand Tour: The Giro

This year’s Giro d’Italia was the best Grand Tour of 2025 due to its thrilling, unpredictable nature, featuring a legendary final-week comeback by Simon Yates on the Finestre, incredible breakaway victories (like Denz’s solo effort), and a captivating battle for the podium with young talent Isaac Del Toro involved. The race was a masterclass in strategy, in both how to win and how to lose, aided by a back-loaded, challenging route and a passionate atmosphere, as per usual, making it a true spectacle. 

Key Highlights:

• Yates’ Masterclass: Or… well let’s not call it lucky, but it was next-level f&ck upperry by the other two. Simon Yates indeed timed his effort perfectly, dominating the final mountain stages and sealing GC with experience and patience. His Stage 20 attack succeeded partly because rivals faltered. Del Toro and Richard Carapaz hesitated, misjudging the pace, while others couldn’t coordinate a chase. Yates capitalized ruthlessly, saying after the stage: “I knew if I went now, they wouldn’t react in time.” Del Toro admitted, “We lost the moment. Yates was just smarter today.” Yates’ win was all the sweeter after imploding to lose in 2018 when leading the race in the final week. 

• New Talent: 21-year-old Isaac Del Toro announced himself on the big stage, finishing second overall after an intense battle with Carapaz. In truth, he really should have won.

• Breakaway Glory: Stage wins from riders like Luke Plapp and Nico Denz were great to see.

• Epic Final Week: Everything exploded in week three, with the Finestre stage deciding the race.

• Pure Giro Vibes: Huge crowds, passion, and Italian flair / flares (!) made it unforgettable. My fave GT of the year – apart from that double with ice and lemon in it… boom!

A classic Giro: smart racing, fearless youth, heroic attacks, and drama until the very end.

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Best Single Performance in a Grand Tour:

Ben Healy (Ireland, EF Education–EasyPost) delivered the standout solo performance of the 2025 season with his long‑range attack to win Stage 6 of the Tour de France. From a rolling breakaway on the hilly 201.5 km Bayeux → Vire stage, Healy launched his decisive move with about 42 km to go, catching rivals by surprise and powering alone to the line with a gap of over two minutes — a rare long solo victory at the sport’s biggest race.

Reflecting on his win, Healy said:

“A stage win in the Tour is just unbelievable… hours and hours of hard work from so many people — and to pay them back today, just really, really amazing.” 

The ride wasn’t just about strength: it was bold timing, tactical freedom, and a fearless push that lit up the race.

He earned this Ione the hard way, too:

Before his 2025 Tour de France solo victory, Healy had been in breakaways multiple times without success — including five different breakaways in the 2024 Tour where he didn’t take a win despite aggressive riding.

In Stage 10 of the 2025 Tour, he pushed hard in a long break and finished third on a brutal mountain day, earning him the yellow jersey thanks to bonus seconds — a sign he was consistently competitive even when not winning.

Known for his long-range attacks, one commentator said that ‘Cycling needs more Ben Healey’s.’ 

We agree!

Is he a future Tour winner? Very unlikely, but w ewill be for sure seeing him on the podium for years to come with stage wins and a Classic or two would be no surprise.