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The greatest cyclist ever - let us hear your views.


eddy

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Merckx

Anquetil

Hinault

Indurain

Contador (work in progress)

Armstrong

 

Interesting, why do you put LA below say hinault or indurain ?

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Merckx is probably the most "complete" cyclist of all times. Armstrong comes in a close 2nd but i think he is the most tactical cyclist of all time. Hinault and Indurain follows them in any order

 

+1 on LA being the most tactical. He changed racing completely (not talking doping here) much like Sky did this year.

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Interesting, why do you put LA below say hinault or indurain ?

 

If it was a TdF rankings only then Armstrong would move up but what about the Vuelta and the Giro?

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I specifically did not want his to degenerate into a doping thread, hence my request.

 

 

 

I am happy to delete it.

 

Was a joke

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+1 on LA being the most tactical. He changed racing completely (not talking doping here) much like Sky did this year.

 

Strategically, i'd tend to agree with you.

 

But tactically i thought he was quite limited. He had a strong team that controlled the race for him and put him in front on the big climbs where he would extend a lead he often established in the ITT.

 

I wonder how he would have coped without race radio ?

 

Ps. The only time he had to chase anybody on his own was Filippo Simeoni ..............

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Most will agree that Merckx was the greatest. Coppi should also be added to the list.

 

I agree eddy, race radio has changed the game.

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Okay, we are talking about stage racing here and not classics (one day), track, sprint or time trial so why don't we count grand tour wins:

 

Note: includes titles stripped for doping.

 

Merckx 11

Hinault 10

Anquetil 8

Coppi 7

Armstrong 7

Contador 7

Indurain 7

Le Mond 3

Edited by TZmtb
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Going to be a very short list. At this point I'm tempted to throw my own hat in the ring. I'm pretty sure I've never doped.

 

Hahaha!

 

***

What criteria though, Eddy?

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The Jensie and Spartikus

 

They might not have the wins, but they bring a certain untainted passion and spirit to cycling. I love watching them ride and interact with the rest of the riders.

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Okay, we are talking about stage racing here and not classics (one day), track, sprint or time trial so why don't we count grand tour wins:

 

Note: includes titles stripped for doping.

 

Merckx 11

Hinault 10

Anquetil 8

Armstrong 7

Contador 7

Indurain 7

Le Mond 3

 

Coppi must have at least 5?

 

Coppi has 7 (2 TdF & 5 Giros)

Edited by jcza
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Merckx is probably the most "complete" cyclist of all times. Armstrong comes in a close 2nd but i think he is the most tactical cyclist of all time. Hinault and Indurain follows them in any order

agree with your thoughts on Armstrong , he had a fine tactical brain in Johan Bruyneel backing him with cc tv and a strong team dedicated to him winning the GC in the TdF. pre cancer he was a domestique, then team leader with various small teams, you could almost compare him to Thomas Voeckler.

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Grand Tour Podiums

Name Giro Vuelta Total

Jacques Anquetil 6 6 1 13

Bernard Hinault 7 3 2 12

Eddy Merckx 6 5 1 12

Felice Gimondi 2 9 1 12

Raymond Poulidor 8 0 2 10

Gino Bartali 3 7 0 10

Miguel Induráin 5 3 1 9

Fausto Coppi 2 7 0 9

Lance Armstrong * 8 0 0 8

Joop Zoetemelk 7 0 1 8

Pedro Delgado 3 0 5 8

 

If you look at Grand Tour stage wins then Merckx is No. 1 with Cipollini second.

Edited by jcza
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