Best sprinter ever?

[jordan5000]

Ok so I created a thread about the best climbers, now I feel I should give the sprinters some love so I will create a poll/thread for the subject. Unlike last time I will let you guys comment before I add the poll so that all of the ones that merit serious consideration are included. My criteria for this are the following: stage wins (particularly in grand tours), classics/monuments if they end in a bunch sprint and points/sprinters jerseys won, with the jerseys from the 3 GTs being the most highly valued. My early candidates would be:
Mark Cavendish, Alessandro Petachi, Mario Cipollini and Erik Zabel. Please give your opinions. Thanks.

 

[ElChingon]

Mario Cipollini!

Love him or hate him, he was in your mind if there was even the slight chance a stage would end in a flat sprint.

His classics revival at Gent-Wevelgem in 2002 with is attack after the last climb of the Kemmel and win with no lead out, was a good slap in the face of the haters

His headline stealing antics also kept him in the spotlight and he never shied away from it either under any circumstance. His on the spot quotes under less than desirable conditions/circumstances were also great.

The number of stages he won well someone else can put that up, so many to remember. Even when he lost he still had a good story to tell or to be told about why he didn't win it. From being ejected for fighting or seeing him gesture in ways non-postable to other riders who did thing wrong, agh those were the days.

He still gets his quotes in and fills the headlines from time to time.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Maertens should certainly be on that list.

It's probably Cipo at the moment, but Cav's certainly on course to be the greatest ever.

 

[Descender]

Rik Van Steenbergen.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Cipolini

It was just crazy hoe he rode the Tour of California at age 42 and was competitive right away That was just crazy and showed just how good he must have been in his prime. Wish he would have raced more with Rock racing.

 

[Magnus]

Maertens should certainly be on that list.

This.

BTW does anybody know what happened at the '77 Vuelta?

 

[King Of The Wolds]

This.

BTW does anybody know what happened at the '77 Vuelta?

Yeah, he won something like 87 stages. Were they all bunch finishes?

 

[El Pistolero]

Yeah, he won something like 87 stages. Were they all bunch finishes?

Not all, but they avoided the mountains at the Vuelta in those days mostly. He was strong on the hills as well though.

Freddy Maertens was the best ever, he had a very short career, but what he won in that time is pretty amazing. His career ended quickly because of a nasty crash he had at the Giro. That has to be taking into account IMO.

He had 21 victories in '75, 30 victories in '76 and 44 in '77 for example.

 

[Afrank]

Mark Cavendish, only 26 and already 20 stage wins of the tour.
Mario Cipollini, 42 stages of the giro.
Erik Zabel, 6 Tour De France green jerseys.

 

[luckyboy]

After Maertens won that Vuelta, 13 stages + sprinters jersey he said "The Vuelta has been perfect training for me and I'm going to the Giro in better shape than any of my rivals."

 

[Tank Engine]

Maertens was something special. The Vuelta started in April in those days, so they couldn't use the high mountains much, but he didn't do too badly in the GC at the tour. However, a lot of the riders in that era and beforehand who might have been considered great sprinters came in the top ten of the GC at GTs (Rik van Looy, Rik van Steenbergen). The peloton was significantly smaller in those days (around 100 in GTs), so maybe there was less reason to specialize in specific races. Kelly and Jalabert seem to be the last of the greats of this type (although Jalabert was only really thought of as a sprinter in the early part of his career).

Of the four sprinters initially mentioned, in terms of sprinting Cipo > Petacchi > Zabel. History will probably decide that Cav was the best of these though.

 

[veganrob]

I loved Cipo. Sorry but I am not that familiar with Maertens results so I will have to look them up.
If Cav keeps on winning like he has for the next 4-5 years though I think he will have to be considered the best pure sprinter of all time.

 

[Magnus]

Yeah, he won something like 87 stages. Were they all bunch finishes?

I think it was 13 out of 15 stages. I've tried searching for some info on the race but not much seems to come up. I find it a bit strange since it seems like a remarkable achievement.

 

[daveinzambia]

After Maertens won that Vuelta, 13 stages + sprinters jersey he said "The Vuelta has been perfect training for me and I'm going to the Giro in better shape than any of my rivals."

wow. good job he was not REALLY trying

 

[Echoes]

Thread already exists: http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=9854&highlight=sprinter


The peloton was not significantly smaller in the 70's. That was only true for GT's and the Worlds.

In the classics, there was consistantly a pack of 150 to 180 riders at the starts. In a semi classic like Montepaschi this year, you barely had 100 riders.

Also racers who had the sprint as only weapon did exist, like Rik Van Linden, for instance. Maertens was just a devastating attacker, an all-rounder with tremendous power ! He was simply not in the same league. Of course the Vuelta was the best preparation for the Giro back then, which is why Merckx chose to race it, in 1973.

The nineties and noughties' sprints are just a joke. Riders who don't see the light until the last 200m are disgraces to the sport pure and simply. On top of that they committed the crime of ruining a big classic like Milan-Sanremo (and we know about the "extras" that they and/or their lead-out men have had to take in order to do that).

I remember reading an interesting comment about sprints of old on this forum:

"The opera of chaos", what a great description. Is pro. racing less exciting? Undoubtedly. I've just been watching tapes going back to 1962. Endless attacks, contenders attacking with 4 hours and 4 climbs to go forcing anyone with pretensions to respond and risk being ridden into oblivion. Godefroot coming 3rd on the Alpe, Sercu making 100 mile lone breaks. I don't see Cavendish volunteering for that do you. Even Sels and Reybroeck, not known for their generous contribution to the race, had the decency to appear in a break now and again. The Belgian racing scene{the only one I know} was enlivened by the endless en musette pros or the loose amalgamations of local riders, all with different sponsors who weren't afraid to deliver a good kicking to the stars and did so frequently. In an age of Merckx,Godefroot, Verbeeck, Van Springel who remembers riders like Roger Loysch, Richard Buckaki, Herman Vrijders or Fernand Hermie all of whom managed to win half a dozen races a year despite the opposition.

And my contribution to the poll is Patrick Sercu !

 

[ultimobici]

Cippo for the time being but Cavendish will overtake him in the near future, IMO.

For most influential though Van Looy is the grandfather of the modern trains we see today.

Maertens was voracious in his appetite to win in the sprints as evidenced by his Vuelta win.

A little treat for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLhp5c79xuY

Check out no 24.
Part 2 & Part 3 as well.

 

[roundabout]

I think it was 13 out of 15 stages. I've tried searching for some info on the race but not much seems to come up. I find it a bit strange since it seems like a remarkable achievement.

If you have a bit of time and know Spanish you can start from here

http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/edition.html?bd=27&bm=04&by=1977&x=54&y=15&page=3

 

[Big Doopie]

maertens.

however, if cav takes more tdf stage wins than merckx...then we may have to reconsider...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Djamolidine Abdoujaparov.

Notwithstanding that he'd probably be DQed from every single sprint he contested if he rode today, how many sprinters do you know who've won mountain stages at the Tour?

 

[Echoes]

For most influential though Van Looy is the grandfather of the modern trains we see today.

What??

Van Looy was known for sprinting against his own team mates because they didn't form a leadout train for him:

And he would usually set the pace himself:

He had the "Red Guard" and they weren't comparable the 1990's trains, in my opinion. But I do accept that the sixties was another era.


I rather liked your ranking on YT, though.

 

[daveinzambia]

Djamolidine Abdoujaparov.

Notwithstanding that he'd probably be DQed from every single sprint he contested if he rode today, how many sprinters do you know who've won mountain stages at the Tour?

Have no idea where he ranks in the overall list but is my favorite sprinter. He was at his best when i was first getting into cycling and my god he was exciting to watch.

and that crash in Paris. How could you not love him after watching him struggle to cross the line.

 

[Altitude]

After Maertens won that Vuelta, 13 stages + sprinters jersey he said "The Vuelta has been perfect training for me and I'm going to the Giro in better shape than any of my rivals."

And how many stages did he win in that Giro?

 

[mulletCobra]

And how many stages did he win in that Giro?

Freddy Maertens lit up the first part - with victories in the prologue and in stages 1, 4, 6a, 6b, 7, and 8a - but was forced to retire after he fell in stage 8b.

 

[Tigerion]

On raw talent I would have to say Cav, even chipolini has said that Cav has much more raw talent. He also said if he had Cav's talent he would have won way more races than Cav has.

How he develops as a sprinter will really determine if he great or just memorable

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

How he develops as a sprinter will really determine if he great or just memorable

When you compare Cav's palmares to other great sprinters, he has already reached or surpassed most if not all. He is much more than just memorable.