Best climbers in history?

[apmfbs]

The list of climber doesn´t mention an authentic nightmare for eddy merckx in the giro ( the asturian climber j.manuel fuente)and his nmesis in the tour ( luis ocaña).
Those two guys were the stars of masy mountain stages and both of them were 1st and 2nd in the mitic stage to les orres 1973.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNwkUum9dI

 

[Carols]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYNwkUum9dI

+1000... and so sad

 

[Panda Claws]

No Van Impe here? -_-

 

[Mr. Gipsy]

Where the hell is Lucien Van Impe??? As well, no Virenque, Alban or Winnen?

 

[jordan5000]

Virenque routinely got his **** handed to him by Lance in the climbs that mattered so, no.

 

[Mr. Gipsy]

Ahhh...good old Lance; what a guy. Did he hand anything else to Virenque?

 

[jens_attacks]

Virenque routinely got his **** handed to him by Lance in the climbs that mattered so, no.

try to watch some of the 90's.
definitely not the best climber in history,but definitely one of the best of that decade.

 

[Escarabajo]

Bjarne Riis was one of the best climbers in the world when his hematocrit was above 60%.

His speed was ludicrous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSC-9_uWQeg

 

[just some guy]

Bjarne Riis was one of the best climbers in the world when his hematocrit was above 60%.

His speed was ludicrous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSC-9_uWQeg

I was watching some TDF 93 the other day -Riis name kept popping up as a surprise for wearing the KOM and climbing with the best climber 1 day and then 1 step down the next.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Virenque routinely got his **** handed to him by Lance in the climbs that mattered so, no.

Yeah, after the Festina debacle before that, not so much

 

[jens_attacks]

Bjarne Riis was one of the best climbers in the world when his hematocrit was above 60%.

His speed was ludicrous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSC-9_uWQeg

thank you for the inside info.
the age of the high crits,name me quickly one guy in the top 30 below 54

riis wasn't a surprise that year,he didn't come from nowhere.of course probably do you think like others,that his win was made only by medical assistance.which i will never agree with.
fignon said that riis could be a grand tour contender when he used to be his domestique but bjarne was a weird guy,he feared to be a leader.fignon almost begged him to go and win the stage to gubbio in giro '89.
bjarne's face on hautacam is the definition of pain no matter what.

 

[deejay]

Gilberto Simoni, the first one to win on the most horrible mountains in recent cycling: Monte Zoncolan and Angliru.

I'm with Fausto, Marco and Gilberto.

Who the Hell is Lance ??
Is that the guy that complained (and set the Virus up) about riding round Milano and never seen winning in the Dolomites.
The poor little Darling didn't ride the "Man's" race the GIRO because he is so GREEDY.

 

[Escarabajo]

thank you for the inside info.
the age of the high crits,name me quickly one guy in the top 30 below 54

riis wasn't a surprise that year,he didn't come from nowhere.of course probably do you think like others,that his win was made only by medical assistance.which i will never agree with.
fignon said that riis could be a grand tour contender when he used to be his domestique but bjarne was a weird guy,he feared to be a leader.fignon almost begged him to go and win the stage to gubbio in giro '89.
bjarne's face on hautacam is the definition of pain no matter what.

We will not know for certain because natural talent was hidden in the medical assistance.

To me in that era it was a matter of who wanted to risk more than others. That's why I am a little skeptical about picking from that era.

I like your passion Jens, but don't let your feelings get in the way of reality.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Bjarne Riis was one of the best climbers in the world when his hematocrit was above 60%.

His speed was ludicrous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSC-9_uWQeg

Hahaha, great find. Good Soundtrack to boot.

 

[Yeahright]

No particular order
Robert Millar
Charly Gaul
Thierry Claverolat
Luis Herrera
Frederico Bahamontes
Marco Pantani
Lucien Van Impe

If you open it up to less pure climbers add in

Bernard Hinault
Laurent Fignon
Pedro Delgado
Steven Rooks

Contador and Armstrong would wipe the floor with all of them except Pantani and maybe Gaul, but difficult to compare era's, different equipment, different training, different diet, different drugs.

 

[Escarabajo]

Contador and Armstrong would wipe the floor with all of them except Pantani and maybe Gaul, but difficult to compare era's, different equipment, different training, different diet, different drugs.

From 1993 to 1996 every climber was wiping the floor with the Texan.

I don't understand what made him a "natural" climber from 1999 forward.

The list of climbers were good from day one. So yeah, different eras are hard to compare.

 

[Mr. Gipsy]

Yes, the Texan became a "natural" from 1999 onward...a trully "gifted specimen"!

 

[greenedge]

I do think Armstrongs' record does speak for itself. 7 TDF wins do come at a cost and you do need talent.

 

[Panda Claws]

Most Wins (Grand Tours)

9: Federico Bahamontes - (Spain)
Tour de France (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964)
Giro d'Italia (1956)
Vuelta a Espana (1957, 1958)
9: Gino Bartali - (Italy)
Tour de France (1938, 1948)
Giro d'Italia (1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947)
8: Lucien Van Impe - (Belgium)
Tour de France (1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983)
Giro d'Italia (1982, 1983)


Copied from Wikipedia.

This shows the amount of times they won the king of the mountains jersey.
No van Impe = lame.

 

[mr. tibbs]

I like Coppi for this, cuz I'm a sucker for ye olde tyme cyclists. Also, Gaul if it's cold and wet or Bahamontes if it's hot. ;P

Of the recent guys, it's hard to see past Pantani. (Does he still count as recent?) That 8+ minute gain at Les Deux Alpes in '98 was pretty impressive, and it's hard to imagine anyone other contemporaries putting that much hurt on their (in-form) top rival in one day.