Best rider of the season?

[Afrank]

NIBALI by far is the best rider of 2013.

The man rode from January all the way to Lombardy-rode two GT-won one & 2nd place- two one-week stage races (T-A & Trentino) - rode to win the WRR, I mean- Nibs just can't be stopped

Candidates for 2nd place? Quintana & Purito.

He was most definitely the most consistent. Winning throughout the early season and right up there at the top in the latter season. One of Nibali's best attributes IMO, competitive in at least 90% of the races he does.

 

[IndianCyclist]

my choice is
Froome
Nibali
Purito
Cance

 

[EnacheV]

Is this a debate? Everybody on the planet knows who's the best rider in 2013, the ones who win the race that means 80% of everything cycling ofc.

Froome
Nibali
Sagan/Horner

 

[jens_attacks]

nibali. i'd choose froomey but he vanished after le tour

 

[Netserk]

nibali. i'd choose froomey but he vanished after le tour

That means a lot coming from you

 

[Netserk]

Random fact: Nibali hasn't lost an Italian stage race since May 2011

 

[LaFlorecita]

That means a lot coming from you

Quoted for TRUTH

 

[LaFlorecita]

is this a debate? Everybody on the planet knows who's the best rider in 2013, the ones who win the race that means 80% of everything cycling ofc.

Froome
nibali
sagan

80% roflmao

 

[Echoes]

Cancellara is the best rider of his generation and this year he won the greatest race.

So it can't even be discussed. Case closed.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Is this a debate? Everybody on the planet knows who's the best rider in 2013, the ones who win the race that means 80% of everything cycling ofc.

Froome
Nibali
Sagan

80% Lol

 

[Parker]

80% Lol

"The biggest annual event on the cycling calendar is the Tour de France. For teams that competed in the '12 Tour, TV exposure delivered nearly 80% of their WorldTour exposure via its global partners"

From here: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/.../Marketing-and-Sponsorship/cycling-study.aspx

 

[gustienordic]

My semi unbiased opinion:

1. Nibali (almost pulled off 2 GTs, just missed out on medals at WC)


These two are tied for me:
2. Cancellara (PR, Ronde)
2. Sagan (Green Jersey, GP Montreal, GW, E3)

3. Froome (destroyed le Tour, but then went MIA, won all the early season stage races minus TA)

4. J-Rod
5. Piti
6. Quintana

7. Dan Martin
7. Kreuziger
7. Costa

10. Cav

Fun fact: Froome raced 4,000 km less this year than Nibali, Sagan, J-Rod, Piti, and Cav.

 

[LaFlorecita]

"The biggest annual event on the cycling calendar is the Tour de France. For teams that competed in the '12 Tour, TV exposure delivered nearly 80% of their WorldTour exposure via its global partners"

From here: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/.../Marketing-and-Sponsorship/cycling-study.aspx

Does that mean it's 80% of cycling?

 

[Parker]

Does that mean it's 80% of cycling?

From a business and media point of view - yes.

 

[fraserhughes]

Does that mean it's 80% of cycling?

80% of cycling for the general public rather than cycling fan I would suggest

Anyway I vote for Nibs. Possibly biased but he's been competitive for a longer season that Froome and has a greater depth of results; week long-stage races, GTs and one day classics.

 

[Parker]

My semi unbiased opinion:

1. Nibali (almost pulled off 2 GTs, just missed out on medals at WC)


These two are tied for me:
2. Cancellara (PR, Ronde)
2. Sagan (Green Jersey, GP Montreal, GW, E3)

3. Froome (destroyed le Tour, but then went MIA, won all the early season stage races minus TA)

People keep saying Froome went missing after the Tour. Yes he did. But after the Giro, Nibali didn't race for two months. After Paris-Roubaix, Cancellara didn't race for seven weeks. It's fairly normal to take time off after your main event if you've won it.

 

[del1962]

NIBALI by far is the best rider of 2013.

The man rode from January all the way to Lombardy-rode two GT-won one & 2nd place- two one-week stage races (T-A & Trentino) - rode to win the WRR, I mean- Nibs just can't be stopped

Candidates for 2nd place? Quintana & Purito.

He had 2 months off mid season, and hardly shone in Poland on his return

 

[del1962]

People keep saying Froome went missing after the Tour. Yes he did. But after the Giro, Nibali didn't race for two months. After Paris-Roubaix, Cancellara didn't race for seven weeks. It's fairly normal to take time off after your main event if you've won it.

there not Froome, so they don't get noticed when missing

Anyway, why is Cav not there, second most victories after Sagan

 

[Anderis]

Perhaps not the best rider in the season, but deserves a honourable mention IMO. Dan Martin:
1st: Liege-Bastogne-Liege
1st: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya- overall
1st: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya- stage 1
1st: Tour de France- stage 9
4th: La Fleche Wallonne
4th: Il Lombardia
8th: Tour de Suisse

I also believe he lost 1st in La Fleche (technical problem near to the finish) and 9th in TdF overall (ilness) and perhaps a stage win or top10 overall opportunity in Vuelta (crash) due to misfortunes, so overall he can well be within 5 or 6 best riders of the season.

 

[Arredondo]

Where is Kittel?

 

[Parker]

I also believe he lost 1st in La Fleche (technical problem near to the finish) and 9th in TdF overall (ilness) and perhaps a stage win or top10 overall opportunity in Vuelta (crash) due to misfortunes, so overall he can well be within 5 or 6 best riders of the season.

And don't forget the Giro d'Italia (didn't enter), the Giro Donne (not a woman) and the New York Marathon (different sport)

 

[Anderis]

What is your point?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Being sentimental, Purito, but realistically I don't want to say it but it almost has to be Froome.

A shout out to Emma Johansson for being the first person in 5 years to out-rank Vos, MTB or no MTB.

 

[Peter von]

I think it's really difficult to choose between Nibbles and Froome. Froome won the bigger GT of the two, but Nibbles was better in not-giro part of his season than Froome was in his not-Tour part of his season. You could argue that Nibbles won in T-A, the only race where both of them really fought for the overall, but you could also argue that T-A is not big enough to be a deciding factor in a debate such as this.

In the end i voted Froome because le Tour is the ultimate tie breaker, and because i'm afraid that i'm overly positive towards Nibbles because i like him better as a rider.

 

[Rollthedice]

My head would go with Froome, my heart goes with Nibali. I usually vote with my heart. Then it's hard to decide between Purito and Valverde on one hand and Canc/Sagan on the other for the rest of the top.