1990-2010 A Look Back at Remarkable Men

[gustienordic]

The clinic thread on Marco Pantani inspired me to start this thread. Someone mentioned how no one remembers great men that used to race (THE VDV, Museeuw, etc) so I wanted to start a thread about the men who will be remembered from this era. This isn't about results, it is about perception and how those that raced through the turbulent time are remembered. I will start by naming 20 from each decade in no particular order.

1990-2000

Marco Pantani
Johan Museeuw
Laurent Jalabert
Davide Rebellin
Miguel Indurain
Erik Zabel
Claudio Chiappucci
Richard Virenque
Michele Bartoli
Abraham Olano
Andrei Tchmil
Mario Cipollini
Tom Steels
Toni Rominger
Bjarne Riis
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Alex Zulle
Frank Vandenbroucke
Jan Ullrich
Fernando Escartin
Andrea Noe
Jaan Kirsipuu

2000-2010

Lance Armstrong
Paolo Bettini
Alexandre Vinokourov
Wouter Weylant
Riccardo Rico
Andy Schleck
Oscar Freire
Danilo Di Luca
Roberto Heras
Tom Boonen
George Hincapie
Alessandro Petacchi
Stefano Garzelli
Alberto Contador
Floyd Landis
Gilberto Simoni
Fabian Cancellara
Michael Boogerd
Erik Dekker
Michael Rasmussen
Robbie McEwen
Joseba Beloki


Honorable Mentions:
Bo Hamburger
Tyler Hamilton
Jesus Manzano
Alejandro Valverde
Damiano Cunego
Manuel Beltran
Eddy Mazzolini
Stuart O'Grady
Francesco Casagrande
Laurent Dufaux
Mark Cavendish
Andrea Tafi
Ivan Gotti
Ivan Basso
Jens Voigt
Thor Hushovd
Christophe Moreau
Iban Mayo

Anybody that I'm missing? What do you guys think? I wanted to have a discussion on the names that had the biggest impact on cycling, negative or positive.

 

[kingjr]

Anybody that I'm missing?

Jose Maria Jimenez

And if you put Weylandt on there you might as well add Kivilev too ;p

 

[42x16ss]

Sastre and Bartoli would belong on those lists too.

 

[Jancouver]

How about Jan Ulrich?

.... and Laurent Fignon

 

[karlboss]

Ullrich is in there, Fignon didn't do much in the 90s,

I'll remember Andreas Kloden. I think Evans should be included on results if nothing else at least as an honourable mention, and Valverde definitely deserves more than an honourable mention.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Sadly I think only one rider defined the 2000-2010 era: Armstrong. I would put everybody else in the "honorable" mentions category.

Luckily I didn't have time to follow cycling in the 90's, so can't really comment.

 

[BVB6BVB]

You are forgetting one of the most spectacular riders of the 90s:

Graeme Obree

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

why the **** is weylandt on that list? I might as well put on my grandmother who has almost as much results as him

 

[Netserk]

why the **** is weylandt on that list? I might as well put on my grandmother who has almost as much results as him

Because he will be remembered (but in that case he should be in the 2010-2020 group and not the 2000-2010 one).

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Because he will be remembered (but in that case he should be in the 2010-2020 group and not the 2000-2010 one).

he will be remembered because he crashed horribly. not because of any results like other riders on that list. so what is remarkable about weylandt?

 

[Netserk]

he will be remembered because he crashed horribly. not because of any results like other riders on that list. so what is remarkable about weylandt?

"The clinic thread on Marco Pantani inspired me to start this thread. Someone mentioned how no one remembers great men that used to race (THE VDV, Museeuw, etc) so I wanted to start a thread about the men who will be remembered from this era. This isn't about results, it is about perception and how those that raced through the turbulent time are remembered. I will start by naming 20 from each decade in no particular order."

 

[hrotha]

he will be remembered because he crashed horribly. not because of any results like other riders on that list. so what is remarkable about weylandt?

That he crashed horribly. You know many people still remember Casartelli, right?

 

[Pentacycle]

That he crashed horribly. You know many people still remember Casartelli, right?

However, he's not on the list for the 1990's nor is he an honorable mention.

 

[hrotha]

However, he's not on the list for the 1990's nor is he an honorable mention.

That list is not the Bible, it represents the riders that stuck for a particular forumer.

 

[Pricey_sky]

It's not about results just riders that are memorable, of course Weylandt is remembered for that horrific day although yes it should be 2010-.

 

[Christian]

This is maybe a bit off topic, but I have recently been thinking about the "living legends" of the peloton, i.e. the riders who are still active but are already legends. Most of these are in the twilight of their career, so they were around in the 2000-2010 era.

Obviously it is a very subjective list. Here are some that I came up with, in no particular order:

Fabian Cancellara
Jens Voigt
Mark Cavendish
Alberto Contador
Tom Boonen
Davide Rebellin
Cadel Evans
Joaquin Rodriguez

Some that I was hesitant about are Gilbert and Valverde. Gilbert hasn't been able to repeat his great season of 2011, and Valverde has different issues of course.

Same goes for Wiggins who has not been able to confirm. Froome probably will confirm and then I will gladly add him. Nibali is right up there too of course.

Sagan, Kittel, Quintana are all future greats but still too young.

Thomas Voeckler could be added to the Jens Voigt category.

I'm sure I have forgotten some, so my excuses for that!

 

[Netserk]

You've got to be ****ting me with Voigt, Evans and Rodriguez.

Valverde is closer to legendary status than all three (and Rebellin)

 

[Lanark]

This is maybe a bit off topic, but I have recently been thinking about the "living legends" of the peloton, i.e. the riders who are still active but are already legends. Most of these are in the twilight of their career, so they were around in the 2000-2010 era.

Obviously it is a very subjective list. Here are some that I came up with, in no particular order:

Fabian Cancellara
Jens Voigt
Mark Cavendish
Alberto Contador
Tom Boonen
Davide Rebellin
Cadel Evans
Joaquin Rodriguez

Some that I was hesitant about are Gilbert and Valverde. Gilbert hasn't been able to repeat his great season of 2011, and Valverde has different issues of course.

Same goes for Wiggins who has not been able to confirm. Froome probably will confirm and then I will gladly add him. Nibali is right up there too of course.

Sagan, Kittel, Quintana are all future greats but still too young.

Thomas Voeckler could be added to the Jens Voigt category.

I'm sure I have forgotten some, so my excuses for that!

I don't think Rebellin or Rodriguez will be long remembered after they quit. Rebellin for his clinic problems in the past (and those issues cast a much bigger shadow on a carreer now), Rodriguez just hasn't won enough or done enough exciting things the be that memorable. Evans...I'm not sure. He was certainly an important rider in the 2007-2011 period, but in the end, what can make him a living legend? His world championship was a good win, but not that extrodinary, his Tour win was certainly great, and one of the most exciting last weeks in a GT in the past decade, but there is a Tour every year, that isn't enough to be a living legend (nobody would consider Savoldelli a legend for winning one of the greatest GT's in living memory).

Jens Voigt is a special case of course. Hasn't won enough to be memorable, but he is a character, and has been in the peloton for ages. That should make him memorable, but then again, who still thinks of Jacky Durand?

 

[Echoes]

All these riders ought to be scrapped but one or two.

Instead these should be remembered:

Edwig Van Hooydonck
Frans Maassen
Gilles Delion
Charly Mottet
Eddy Bouwmans
Dimitri Zhdanov
Sammie Moreels
Jim Van de Laer
Peter De Clercq

 

[Christian]

You've got to be ****ting me with Voigt, Evans and Rodriguez.

Valverde is closer to legendary status than all three (and Rebellin)

I don't think Rebellin or Rodriguez will be long remembered after they quit. Rebellin for his clinic problems in the past (and those issues cast a much bigger shadow on a carreer now), Rodriguez just hasn't won enough or done enough exciting things the be that memorable. Evans...I'm not sure. He was certainly an important rider in the 2007-2011 period, but in the end, what can make him a living legend? His world championship was a good win, but not that extrodinary, his Tour win was certainly great, and one of the most exciting last weeks in a GT in the past decade, but there is a Tour every year, that isn't enough to be a living legend (nobody would consider Savoldelli a legend for winning one of the greatest GT's in living memory).

Jens Voigt is a special case of course. Hasn't won enough to be memorable, but he is a character, and has been in the peloton for ages. That should make him memorable, but then again, who still thinks of Jacky Durand?

Indeed Evans, Rodriguez and Rebellin are questionable. Evans I would keep in there, even though he might have comparatively "few" wins I feel like he has marked a generation and stood out.

Voigt is a different category of course, but I think he has "cult" status and will be remembered for a long time

 

[Netserk]

Vino is cult.

Voigt is not comparable. At all.

 

[BigMac]

Yes, Valverde is legendary.

 

[Hugo87]

Yes, Valverde is legendary.

No doubt, should be on the list, not on the honorable mentions.

Savoldelli and Mancebo maybe deserve honorable mentions 2000-2010.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

I can only talk about the 2000-2010:

Vino - The most sucsessful attacker.
Pantani - the defensive Vino
LA - awesome 7 tour victories
Ullrich - awesome at not winning the tour (he did once ofc, but not in 2000-2010)
AC - After LA and Jan the most memorable GC rider
Weylandt - ugly fall, RIP
Kivilev - Weylandt with results
Sastre - the first Adam Hansen
Kasheckhin - the greatest gc talent in mid 2000s.
Kloden - will allways remember his style
Voeckler - The bad Vino
Boonen - classics
Cancellara - classics and tts
Bettini - will remember him
Cavendish - remember his sprints (especially with Renshaw at leadout man)
Voigt - love the old ones.

These are the riders I will remember for sure in 2 or 3 dacades. Honorable mentions to Evans, Valverde, Sanchez, Di Luca, Basso, Mayo, Savoldelli etc.

 

[icefire]

Good to see the silent assassin goes unnoticed