30 for 30 - Slaying the Badger

[kurtinsc]

I think it's just a matter of time that Nibali wins a classic. Purito has come oh so close to winning a grand tour twice so to not give him credit for being proficient at both is quite curious. Of course Valverde has wins in both on his palmares. Andy Schleck has one classic and one grand tour. Danilo Diluca has both on his palmares. These are just off the top of my head. Contador came close the one season he actually put a serious effort in (Fleche Wallone) and still won the Tour the same year. It's not impossible in this day and age. Cadel Evans is another who has done well and won at both.

Again... I feel like what I'm trying to say isn't coming across right.

Yes, there are guys who are proficient at both GT's and major classics. But in general, the guys who are favorites in classics are rarely if ever favorites in GT's and vice versa these days. Yes, Valverde won a Vuelta... as did Sean Kelly. But neither would be guys I'd consider top GC riders like Hinault, Lemond, Contador or Froome. Those are the "heads of state"... guys like Kelly or Valverde could just ride with them sometimes.

The difference is that Hinault or Fignon (or to a slightly lesser degree Lemond) were also among the heads of state in most of the 1-day races they were in as well.

Now it feels like there is a definite distinction. Yes, there are some 1-day races where the GC guys come out. LBL and LFW sometimes have that. But it used to be those guys in MSR and P-R as well.

Now we seem to have discussions about the best GC guy (Froome/Contador) or the best cobble guy (Boonen/Cancellera) or the best sprinter (Kittel/Cavendish) or the best hill-classic rider (Gilbert/Valverde/Rodriguez) or the best TT rider (Martin/Cancellera). But there isn't much crossover. Back then... Hinault would probably be in most of those discussions. Lemond would be in a lot of them. Fignon would be in a lot of them. And that was kind of cool.