Every day, Shimano’s engineers set out to make garments and components that meet the exacting standards of the world’s best cyclists. We have done so for 100 years and we will be doing so in another 100.

DURA-ACE and S-PHYRE are the products of decades of collaboration with Tour de France winners and world champions. Our athletes demand the best, and we deliver—without compromise. We know that their victories are backed by years of hard work, diligence, and commitment to performance. Before and after the podium celebrations, bike racing is a challenging profession.

That was especially true this year. We are very proud of the resilience, determination, and grace that our athletes showed in 2021 and want to take this opportunity to celebrate their achievements.

Primož Roglič
Primož Roglič had always dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. When he was a boy, flying off ski jumps in Slovenia, he imagined it would be at a winter Games. He was ready to take flight when got to Tokyo this summer. On the podium after the time trial, he struck a ski jumper’s pose with his gold medal. Then, he went to Spain and cleaned up at the Vuelta, taking four stage wins and the general classification. Jumbo-Visma’s superstar finished off his year with wins at Milano-Torino and the Giro dell’Emilia.

Wout van Aert
Wout Van Aert’s ride at this year’s Tour de France ought to be counted among the great performances in the history of the race. First, he won the stage over Mont Ventoux. Then, he won the final time-trial and, the very next day, beat the world’s best sprinters on the Champs-Élysées. The Belgian all-rounder is a born champion. This year, he won 13 races, including his national title, the Amstel Gold Race, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Tour of Britain.

Mathieu van der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel was set for a fairly-tale start to his debut Tour de France. The first stage looked as if it were made for him. If he won, he’d get to wear the maillot jaune and pay tribute to his grandfather, the late great Raymond Poulidor, who had recently passed away. Julian Alaphillipe had other plans, but Van der Poel got his revenge on Stage 2 with a stupendous attack on the Mûr de Bretagne. He wore the yellow jersey all the way to the Alps, before he stopped to focus on the Olympics.

Julian Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe’s rainbow jersey was charmed. After stunning victories at Flèche Wallone and the first stage of the Tour de France, the Frenchman went and won worlds again with an audacious solo.

Fabio Jakobsen
After his horrific crash last season, just getting back on his bike was already an achievement for Fabio Jakobsen. For him to come back and win seven races, including four stages of the Vuelta was nothing short of heroic.

Mark Cavendish
After struggling for years, Mark Cavendish got a last-minute call up to the Tour de France. A stage win was almost too much for him to hope for. Four drew him even with Eddy Merckx’s all-time record. It was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport.

Egan Bernal
He’s only 24, but Egan Bernal already has two grand tours to his name. The young Colombian proved his class once again with a magisterial victory at the Giro d’Italia.

Marianne Vos
Marianne Vos didn’t follow the attacks on the final ascent of the Cauberg during this year’s Amstel Gold Race. She bided her time in a select group and came back to the leaders with just a couple of hundred metres left. In the sprint, she showed everyone why she is still the greatest female cyclist who has ever lived.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig sure gave us something to smile about when she won Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Burgos. The bubbly Dane beat the best climbers in the world uphill.

Lorena Wiebes
Team DSM’s Lorena Wiebes had an awesome season. The Dutch sprinter earned 13 victories, including stages of the Giro Rosa and The Women’s Tour, the Scheldeprijs and the Ronde van Drenthe.

Richard Carapaz
Richard Carapaz’s win in the Olympic road race took grit, tactical genius, and panache. Born and raised in the high mountains of Ecuador, he has become one of cycling’s most stylish racers.

Jonas Vingegaard
There should be no doubt now that Jonas Vingegaard has the ability to challenge for the yellow jersey. The young Dane finished second at the Tour this year and emerged as one of the race’s most exciting climbers and time triallists.

Coryn Labecki
Coryn Labecki said she had an angel on her shoulder when she won the final stage of the Giro Rosa. Her father had passed away from Covid-19 earlier in the year. She dedicated her victory to him.

Kasper Asgreen
Only a brave bettor would have backed Kasper Asgreen to win a two-up sprint against Mathieu van der Poel, but the tall Dane had the strength left in his legs at the end of this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen to beat the Dutch star and win his first monument.

Shimano Neutral Service
It is an honour to support the world’s best bike racers. Our neutral service mechanics were there for them at crucial moments throughout the 2021 season. Whenever our blue Shimano cars are there, the athletes know that they will receive top-notch assistance and equipment that they can trust if they run into a mishap during the race. This year, we were especially proud that we could support the peloton at the Tour de France.