Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard was awarded the Velo d'Or trophy for the season's best cyclist, but the Danish rider skipped the ceremony in Paris on Tuesday.
Vingegaard, who won his second Tour in a row last July, is expected to be in the French capital on Wednesday when organisers reveal the route for the 2024 Tour.
It was the first time on Tuesday that the Velo d'Or, an award first attributed in 1992, was being handed at a formal ceremony.Vingegaard's Jumbo-Visma team mate Christophe Laporte was, however, present, to receive the Bernard Hinault trophy for the best French rider of the season after winning the European champion title.
Dutch Mathieu van der Poel, who won the world title and Paris-Roubaix, the 'Queen of the classics' was handed the Eddy Merckx for the best one-day race rider. Belgian Lotte Kopecky received the women's Eddy Merckx award after notably winning the Tour of Flanders and the world champion titles.Layreysen makes flying start in Champions League
Flying Dutchman Harrie Layreysen made a winning start to the UCI Track Champions League on Saturday with another dominant display in the sprint discipline in which he is virtually unbeatable.Tottenham Hotspur's Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed the best start by a new manager in the Premier League but the Australian said a slipshod second half during their 2-0 win over Fulham had tempered the satisfaction of going top of the table.