Best ever single season by a rider?

[Brullnux]

Gilbert 2011 probably best of recent times, Boonen 2012 and Canc 2010 also vero good from classics perspective. Wiggins was excellent in 2012, but then again so was Contador in 2008 say, the last GT double.

 

[Miburo]

Re:

Gilbert 2011 probably best of recent times, Boonen 2012 and Canc 2010 also vero good from classics perspective. Wiggins was excellent in 2012, but then again so was Contador in 2008 say, the last GT double.

That was a pretty meh Contador though, from his prime years (2007-2011), that was the worst Contador but that's cause of circumstances that he couldn't control. Then again holding off against the Cobra is still pretty impressive

Edit: If purito raced properly in 2012, that would have been an amazing season winning both the giro and vuelta and also Lombardia

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Gilbert 2011 probably best of recent times, Boonen 2012 and Canc 2010 also vero good from classics perspective. Wiggins was excellent in 2012, but then again so was Contador in 2008 say, the last GT double.

That was a pretty meh Contador though, from his prime years (2007-2011), that was the worst Contador but that's cause of circumstances that he couldn't control. Then again holding off against the Cobra is still pretty impressive

Edit: If purito raced properly in 2012, that would have been an amazing season winning both the giro and vuelta and also Lombardia

Yeah, Contador was crazy good in 2009. I never understood why he didn't go the WC.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I can only concur with people saying Gilbert 2011. Nothing else comes close in the last 15 years.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

People's talk of recent times may want to consider Cunego in '04, winning Trentino, the Giro (four stages), Lombardia, Appennino, a bunch of other wins at the Italian one-day calendar, and top 10 at the Worlds. Also Cavendish in '09 as pure sprinters go could be a contender, but the calibre of wins, MSR aside, isn't really a match for Gilbert '11.

Oh, you thought I'd forget? Marianne Vos 2012

(In all seriousness, though, if she'd done the Ronde, it would have been nigh on impossible for her to have had a better season, but obviously against the lower depth of field and in the more homogenized and less specialized calendar it's comparatively limited).

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Although not among the absolute best, Jalabert 1995 deserves a mention at least. Winning Sanremo, Fleche Wallone, Paris- Nice, Criterium International, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and the Vuelta, where he won 5 stages, GC, mountain and points jerseys. Outside of that he won a ton of other stages and races.

Very good call!

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

If any season from post 2000 is in for consideration it's Gilbert in 2011.

Wiggins 2012 shouldn't even be up for debate. Yes he won 3 WT stage races and he won the Tour, all of these were very tt heavy, with flattish climbs where his ridiculously strong team could drag him him to the top. Won the Tour, but his best competitor had to ride for him.

If wiggins had won the world ITT in 2012, I would possibly consider him. But he didn't. I'd put Canc 2010 above wiggins 2012 any day

 

[hrotha]

And the whitewashing of Wiggo's 2012 climbing continues.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

And the whitewashing of Wiggo's 2012 climbing continues.

I'm not saying he wasn't great, but come on, Boonen had a better season that year. Wiggins only had two challengers in the Tour, and the main one was put on a leash anyway.

 

[Squire]

Re:

People's talk of recent times may want to consider Cunego in '04, winning Trentino, the Giro (four stages), Lombardia, Appennino, a bunch of other wins at the Italian one-day calendar, and top 10 at the Worlds. Also Cavendish in '09 as pure sprinters go could be a contender, but the calibre of wins, MSR aside, isn't really a match for Gilbert '11.

Oh, you thought I'd forget? Marianne Vos 2012

(In all seriousness, though, if she'd done the Ronde, it would have been nigh on impossible for her to have had a better season, but obviously against the lower depth of field and in the more homogenized and less specialized calendar it's comparatively limited).

Cipollini 2002 beats Cavendish 2009 easily for a "best sprinter's season".

Milano-Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem, Worlds, six Giro stages (+points), three Vuelta stages.

The three best recent seasons just judging by results are in my opinion Gilbert '11, Wiggins '12 and Boonen 05', but the first two were massively helped by the absence of what would've been their no. 1 rival that season.

 

[Tonton]

Great thread, great posts. There has to be a Bernard Hinault entry, and I had many years to choose from. Some may disagree with the choice, but IMO, the '80 vintage was particularly great.

In '80, Hinault and his DS Guimard were going for the triple-crown, Giro-TdF-WC. The season began with one of the greatest monument wins even, the classic '80 LBL. Other results's worth noting: 3rd at the FW, 4th at PR, and 5th at the AGR. Then Hinault went on to win the Tour de Romandie. In the Giro, The Badger triumphed with style, including one stage win marked by his devastating attack on the slopes of the Stelvio. Unfortunately for him, Hinault DNS stage 13 at the TdF, while in yellow, after 3 stage wins. The French press was all over him, his detractors called him "soft" (ironic, weeks after his display of guts and b@lls in LBL). Hinault came back to crush opposition and win the rainbow jersey. Also, 15 wins in smaller races.

 

[Cannibal72]

If he hadn't crashed in the yellow jersey, Hinault 1980 would be a good call. Victory in the legendary Neige-Bastogne-Neige is impressive enough, but that year he also won the general and combination classifications, as well as a stage, of (an admittedly rather weak, aside perhaps from Moser, who got injured) Giro, and the rainbow jersey on one of the hardest courses of all time (Sallanches). He won three stages of that Tour, and his closest rival was Zoetemelk, who was something of a specialist at coming second. I don't think Hinault ' 80 is the greatest season of all time as is, because the hypotheticals are just too strong, but it does come agonisingly close.

In the real world, it's kind of pointless considering Merckx for things like this, because his natural talent and dominance were just so great; the 'greatest season', for me, is when a rider has a season beyond his usual standard, not just the best season of the best rider. From that perspective, it's hard to look past Roche '87.

Edit: sorry, Tonton, I have no idea how I managed to miss the post you made above.

 

[Billie]

Frank in 1999

 

[Tonton]

Cannibal72, great point, which brings me to the rider who was my first-round pick in the thread mentioned in the OP: the '94 Evgeni Berzin.

An unbelievable season, an unbelievable GB team, everything was unbelievable . But it wasn't a dream . That year, Berzin began his season with second-place finishes in the overall GC of both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Vuelta a Pais Vasco. After a 3rd place finish at the FW (the infamous all-GB podium), Evgeni triumphed in LBL. The best was yet to come. At the Giro, he destroyed two-time defending champion BigMig and a promising new-comer: Marco Pantani. Before winning two ITT a la Indurain, Berzin took the pink jersey with a display of class and Cance-like acceleration. Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HGE3ngFTyg

Besides big-migging BigMig, Berzin won plenty, including the ITT at the Criterium International, two stages and the points classification at the Bicicleta Vasca, and the Giro dell'Appenino.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

I think it's pretty obvious that when it comes to volume of high quality wins, consistency and all-around ability nobody can compete with Merckx so I think it's more interesting to break it down into specialities (TT, sprint, cobbled classics...) so there can be at least some debate.

People's talk of recent times may want to consider Cunego in '04, winning Trentino, the Giro (four stages), Lombardia, Appennino, a bunch of other wins at the Italian one-day calendar, and top 10 at the Worlds. Also Cavendish in '09 as pure sprinters go could be a contender, but the calibre of wins, MSR aside, isn't really a match for Gilbert '11.

Oh, you thought I'd forget? Marianne Vos 2012

(In all seriousness, though, if she'd done the Ronde, it would have been nigh on impossible for her to have had a better season, but obviously against the lower depth of field and in the more homogenized and less specialized calendar it's comparatively limited).

Cipollini 2002 beats Cavendish 2009 easily for a "best sprinter's season".

Milano-Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem, Worlds, six Giro stages (+points), three Vuelta stages.

The three best recent seasons just judging by results are in my opinion Gilbert '11, Wiggins '12 and Boonen 05', but the first two were massively helped by the absence of what would've been their no. 1 rival that season.

It's funny that you undermine Gilbert and Wiggins for the absence of their rivals which they have no control on but use the fact that Cipo lucked out in having a sprinter-friendly course at Zolder (he still had to go out and win obviously) to push him ahead of Cavendish. I mean when given the opportunity, Cavendish did deliver in the WCRR so I don't think it should be held against him. I don't think that when comparing Cipo '02 and Cav '09, it's really fair to put too much emphasis on Zolder. Cipo's GW win was great but it had little to do with his sprinting ability and more with showing how awesome a rider he can be when he actually tried (I wasn't particularly fond of the way he quit in GT when the moutains showed up). There's a lot of elements that made Cipo's 2002 season more successful but I wouldn't necessarily say it was greater than Cavendish's 2009's season.

For me, greatness is not something limited to the result itself but how it was achieved. The feeling of dominance that a rider projects is very important. Scrapping by for every win isn't the same as leaving everybody a couple of minutes behind. For instance, I consider Hinault's LBL win as greater than Gerrans' despite the fact that the end result is the same. Cipollini was super strong in 2002 and had better result in the classics but I have never felt the same sense of invincibility around a sprinter as Cavendish in 2009. He lost like one sprint all year and he did have that magical sprint in MSR too. Plus, the way he dominated the field that year in the TDF is something I have never seen before or since from a sprinter. So yeah, I pick Cavendish as the best sprinter season I've seen. Cipo 2002 is definetely up there though as are Petacchi's best seasons (I don't think we're going to see someone win 4+ stages in all 3 GT the same year anytime soon). Further back, guys like Freddy Maertens had some amazing seasons but not having seen him is in prime, I can't really judge him against Cav or Cipo.

 

[Cannibal72]

Sean Kelly should be in the mix, and I think it should be for 1984. He won a third successive Paris-Nice, beating Roche and Hinault, he came second in Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, and he picked up wins in a muddy Roubaix and in Liege-Bastogne-Liege (the last rider to win Roubaix and another monument that isn't Flanders in a season, I think). He then took all three stages and, surprisingly enough, the overall of the Criterium International, as well as the overall of Pais Vasco, and Catalunya. He came fifth in the Tour and only lost the maillot vert on the final day.

 

[blackmamba]

Maby not the best but deserves to be mentioned since it was historic and never before done.

Tom Boonen 2012!!

 

[Tonton]

Further back, guys like Freddy Maertens had some amazing seasons but not having seen him is in prime, I can't really judge him against Cav or Cipo.

I applause you for this comment: all are dominant champions of their era, comparing is just impossible. Some have many great years, others one magic year. When one year would be a great career for most, that's special. Maertens? I don't remember much of him in the '70s, I was too young, I was for Merckx, then Hinault, and always liked Van Impe. But I remember his TdF in '81 and the WC after that (one of the all-time great sprints): when he was on, he was on. Then the next year, not a single win iirc, his best was 3rd in a kermesse.

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

2012 was a really funny season, cause Boonen won practically every classic he entered and Wiggins every stage race.

Purito also had incredible season that year!

 

[BigMac]

Honorable mention to Merckx '74. Triple Crown and all.

 

[Miburo]

Re:

Maby not the best but deserves to be mentioned since it was historic and never before done.

Tom Boonen 2012!!

That Boonen wasn't that strong except for in PR.

In E3 and Gent he won a sprint, good but not insane and in the Ronde he was the 2nd (maybe even 3rd best) rider.

In '07 i thought Boonen was pretty good. Winning 2 stages in the tour (and the green), also DVV, E3 and KBK. In the Ronde he had an off day (also crashed early), but in PR he was easily the strongest rider. Of course not even close to an amazing season but still, not bad at all.

I thought Canc '08 was pretty insane, maybe even the best we've seen of him. What he did there in the olympic RR was amazing.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re:

Honorable mention to Merckx '74. Triple Crown and all.

Merckx '70 is yet to be mentioned as well

1st Paris-Nice
1st Gent-Wevelgem
3rd Ronde van Vlaanderen
1st Paris-Roubaix
1st Flèche Wallonne
1st Giro d'Italia
3 stages in the Giro d'Italia
1st Tour de France
8 stages in the Tour de France

 

[PremierAndrew]

I think it's pretty obvious that when it comes to volume of high quality wins, consistency and all-around ability nobody can compete with Merckx so I think it's more interesting to break it down into specialities (TT, sprint, cobbled classics...) so there can be at least some debate.

People's talk of recent times may want to consider Cunego in '04, winning Trentino, the Giro (four stages), Lombardia, Appennino, a bunch of other wins at the Italian one-day calendar, and top 10 at the Worlds. Also Cavendish in '09 as pure sprinters go could be a contender, but the calibre of wins, MSR aside, isn't really a match for Gilbert '11.

Oh, you thought I'd forget? Marianne Vos 2012

(In all seriousness, though, if she'd done the Ronde, it would have been nigh on impossible for her to have had a better season, but obviously against the lower depth of field and in the more homogenized and less specialized calendar it's comparatively limited).

Cipollini 2002 beats Cavendish 2009 easily for a "best sprinter's season".

Milano-Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem, Worlds, six Giro stages (+points), three Vuelta stages.

The three best recent seasons just judging by results are in my opinion Gilbert '11, Wiggins '12 and Boonen 05', but the first two were massively helped by the absence of what would've been their no. 1 rival that season.

It's funny that you undermine Gilbert and Wiggins for the absence of their rivals which they have no control on but use the fact that Cipo lucked out in having a sprinter-friendly course at Zolder (he still had to go out and win obviously) to push him ahead of Cavendish. I mean when given the opportunity, Cavendish did deliver in the WCRR so I don't think it should be held against him. I don't think that when comparing Cipo '02 and Cav '09, it's really fair to put too much emphasis on Zolder. Cipo's GW win was great but it had little to do with his sprinting ability and more with showing how awesome a rider he can be when he actually tried (I wasn't particularly fond of the way he quit in GT when the moutains showed up). There's a lot of elements that made Cipo's 2002 season more successful but I wouldn't necessarily say it was greater than Cavendish's 2009's season.

For me, greatness is not something limited to the result itself but how it was achieved. The feeling of dominance that a rider projects is very important. Scrapping by for every win isn't the same as leaving everybody a couple of minutes behind. For instance, I consider Hinault's LBL win as greater than Gerrans' despite the fact that the end result is the same. Cipollini was super strong in 2002 and had better result in the classics but I have never felt the same sense of invincibility around a sprinter as Cavendish in 2009. He lost like one sprint all year and he did have that magical sprint in MSR too. Plus, the way he dominated the field that year in the TDF is something I have never seen before or since from a sprinter. So yeah, I pick Cavendish as the best sprinter season I've seen. Cipo 2002 is definetely up there though as are Petacchi's best seasons (I don't think we're going to see someone win 4+ stages in all 3 GT the same year anytime soon). Further back, guys like Freddy Maertens had some amazing seasons but not having seen him is in prime, I can't really judge him against Cav or Cipo.

Excellent post. People talk a lot about the World RR being the separator between Cipo '02 and Cav '09, but who would bet against Cav in 2009 if the WC RR was sprint friendly?

I still think Cipo '02 was slightly better because of his win in GW, but looking at GTs, 3 Giro stages + 6 Tour stages is just as, if not more impressive than 6 Giro (+ Points Jersey) + 3 Vuelta

 

[Red Rick]

I agree on the Cav vs Cipo debate. That MSR sprint in 2009 is my favourite bunch sprint of all time

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

I agree on the Cav vs Cipo debate. That MSR sprint in 2009 is my favourite bunch sprint of all time

Cavendish had no right to close down that gap to Haussler and take that sprint. Incredible win