17 December 2025

“WHAT A SEASON!” - GILLES THOMAS ON TITLES, €1.8 PRIZE MONEY & WHY LGCT/GCL IS THE PINNACLE OF THE SPORT

Exclusive Interview - 2025 Longines Global Champions Tour & GCL Champion

In the tunnels under the roaring Riyadh Arena, moments after being crowned both Longines Global Champions Tour Champion and GCL Champion with Valkenswaard United, a grinning Gilles Thomas looked every bit the sport’s new superstar - part athlete, part rockstar, part a man still trying to process the scale of what he’s achieved.

It’s been a season that didn’t just break records… it obliterated them.

And Gilles? He’s at the centre of the storm. It’s been a season of outrageous results, relentless consistency, history-making prize money and Gilles just stamped his name all over it.

“€1.8 million… I still don’t believe it.”

Ask him about the numbers - the wins, the clears, the podiums - and he smiles.

Ask him about the horses, he lights up.

Ask him about the €1,874,005 in prize money he’s earned across the 2025 season… and he genuinely has no words at first.

“Honestly? €1.8 million… It's really crazy. I still cannot believe it.” Gilles says, shaking his head. “There is no other series in the world that gives riders chances like this. For me, everything started when I was the U25 rider for Valkenswaard United. Without that opportunity, I would not be here today. It opened so many doors. This team and tour… it really changed my career.”

From U25 rookie to double champion. From hopeful talent to global headline.

This is what the Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL were built for - and he’s living proof.

World-Class Sport, City After City

If Gilles sounds like a man who just stepped out of a fast car, there’s a reason. Ask any rider: the LGCT/GCL circuit feels more and more like a horsepower-powered Formula 1 season.

The 2025 season felt bigger than ever. Stadium crowds. Iconic cities. The pressure. The performances that kept rewriting the definition of “world-class.”

Gilles leans into it:

“Every stop this year was really unbelievable - the atmosphere, the level of the sport. You really feel like you are part of something big and that is what pushes us to be better every week.”

Cannes under the lights. Paris under the Eiffel Tower. Monaco on the harbour.
This is sport packaged like spectacle - and Gilles is thriving in the spotlight.

Valkenswaard United: “We were on fire this year.”

Alongside his individual domination, the GCL season was a masterclass for Valkenswaard United.

Cool. Controlled. Deadly consistent.

“The team this year… really unbelievable,” Gilles says. “Everyone did their job. Every round was important. It felt like everything was working for us this season.”

The bond runs deep - the same team that once gave him a U25 debut now celebrates him as their anchor.

Full circle stuff. Full goosebumps.

Eyes Already on 2026: “I can’t wait.”

Most champions take a moment to breathe.
Not Gilles.

“I’m already excited for 2026,” he admits with a grin. “The sport keeps growing, the prize money is growing, the level is higher every year… you really have to keep pushing. But this is also why this tour is the best. You want to be here. You want to fight for these titles.”

That’s the magic of LGCT + GCL:
Athletes aren’t just competing in it - they’re selling the vision from the inside. Because when riders talk like this, the message hits differently.

A Champion Who’s Still Hungry

After a season of monster wins, massive pressure, and history-making prize money, Gilles Thomas is not slowing down.

If anything, he looks like a rider just getting started.

“To win both titles… It is really a dream. But it also gives you motivation. When you feel this once, you want it again. Earlier in the season I said how the Championship leader armband felt like it gave me wings for the season, but I really think it has given them to my career.”

2026 is already calling.

The stages will be bigger.

The competition sharper.

And the reigning champion?

He’s already gearing up for more.