Best Sprinter of All Time

[Nick C.]

I went with Cipollini. The level of competetion was so much higher. Just look at the list Zabel, Abdu were more or less direct contemporaries. Petaccchi, McEwen, Thor and Freire less so. There were guys he competed against that could be listed like Tom Steels. Cav is great but his competition is two guys that lost the wheels (Greipel and Farrar), people who are past their best days, Petacchi, Freire, Thor, Boonen, or are more suited to classics EBH, soon to be Goss. Maertens may well be the greatest cycling talent on the list with Kelly hands down the greatest cyclist listed.

 

[bobbins]

Cavendish certainly. He's routinely taken 20m out of the world's fastest guys - see his Bordeaux, Champs-Elysees and Cap Frehel stage wins for evidence. Cipo and Maertens in their prime probably had the speed to do that also. The point is though, that the very best sprinters, with or without a train, don't get themselves in that position very often. That's as much a skill as being able top finish things off.

I'd still go for Cipo right now. His palmares still stands up against Cav's for the moment, but that will likely change in a year or 2.

Cav came down in the same crash

 

[LaFlorecita]

I voted Cipo. I do think Cav will be the best in a few years.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I do wish when people did polls they would check the make results public box.

Problem with that is that it opens a can of worms. Though I'll consider doing that next time.

Abdou. Next question.

Might help if you actually vote. He currently has zero votes. Or did you vote for someone else?

Sorry but am I the only one who thinks this list was a little shallow? Seriously Thor! Great bike rider but all time great of sprinting, hardly.

I went by the article in the link. Did you read it?

This poll could just be termed, when where you born, before or after about 1985, us old-uns go for nostalgia and cippo, the young un's go cavendish.

Agree completely. As such I expect Cavendish to win the poll. Though I voted for Cipo, without hesitation. Nick C and Hitch listed the reasons why.

 

[Anonymous]

Cav has also had the distinct advantage that for several years the 2nd fastest guy in the world was his lead out man..

 

[will10]

Who, Ciolek?

 

[theyoungest]

Cav has also had the distinct advantage that for several years the 2nd fastest guy in the world was his lead out man..

You mean Greipel? I guess not, but who else...

I don't really believe in a 2nd fastest guy, BTW. It's Cav and then a whole group of guys who can beat each other, and on a good day can beat Cav.

 

[Echoes]

Patrick Sercu.

 

[Angliru]

I'm going with Cipo. While Cavendish's performance has been stellar and he will continue to pile on the wins, I am in agreement with whoever stated something to the effect of this era not really being a golden age for sprinters.

The elite sprinters of the generation before Cav are all on the downward slope of their peak years and the current generation leaves quite a bit to be desired by comparision. Yes Cav can only compete against who shows up and can't be blamed for the level or quality of his competition but nevertheless there isn't another sprinter of his generation currently out there that even warrants consideration in this poll and thus, for me, this lessens Cav's accomplishments when compared to the other great sprinters , no fault of his own of course.

I'll certainly get flamed for my comments so excuse me while I slip into my asbestos suit.

 

[Old School]

I voted for Mario...such a strong top gear he had.

I wish i could have voted for Jan Paul Van Poppel, but, like it was said, this was based off the article.

But in a knife fight type of sprint with no leadout teams, I'm going with Abdu, barely, over McEwen.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Sean Kelly is obviously the best cyclist on the list, but as sprinters I think it's between Zabel and Maertens for the time being, but unless something goes terribly wrong in the future, by the time he's done I think Cav will be your man.

 

[Thomsena]

McEwen. Soon to be overtaken by Cav.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Sometimes I really feel like beeing in Punxsutawney.

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=15349

 

[blutto]

... there are, obviously, several ways to look at this...number of wins, the panache of the winning move, the quality of the win and the circumstances of the win....so on the one hand you have the sprinters that rely heavily on trains, then there are the guys who are awesome in making their way thru a bunch gallop and finally there are the guys who can make their own luck...

....a story of different horses for different courses ?????...but its a long season and I still have this thing for the old days when specialization wasn't as prevalent as today...so I like guys who can do it year round...so, for me at least, that kinda narrows it down....to...Kelly, Maertens ( probably tied for the absolute sprinter gods given my prejudices ) but my personal fave is Freire ( what can I say, I like cats, and among the riding community this guy is the consumate cat...appropriately, El Gato is his nickname ...and he finishes so well...that smile when he finishes...this is the hardest sport, yet he still can express such joy when he finishes...he is not crushing people or beating them up, he is just winning a game...and then there is the guy's panache...and he has never had a train...its just Oscar being real smart....and having fun...)...when I grow up that is who I'd like to be like...

Cheers

blutto

 

[Angliru]

... there are, obviously, several ways to look at this...number of wins, the panache of the winning move, the quality of the win and the circumstances of the win....so on the one hand you have the sprinters that rely heavily on trains, then there are the guys who are awesome in making their way thru a bunch gallop and finally there are the guys who can make their own luck...

....a story of different horses for different courses ?????...but its a long season and I still have this thing for the old days when specialization wasn't as prevalent as today...so I like guys who can do it year round...so, for me at least, that kinda narrows it down....to...Kelly, Maertens ( probably the absolute sprinter gods given my prejudices )but my personal fave is Freire ( what can I say I like cats and among the riding community this guy is the consumate cat...and he finishes so well...that smile when he finishes...this is the hardest sport, yet he still can express such joy when he finishes...he is not crushing people or beating them up, he is just winning a game...and then there is the guy's panache...and he has never had a train...its just Oscar being real smart....and having fun...)...when I grow up that is who I'd like to be like...

Cheers

blutto

Very well stated. I share your appreciation for Oscar's resourcefulness. One of my all-time favorite riders. Two thumbs up!

 

[fatandfast]

is it to late to add names to the survey list? If so rather than add, delete a couple of current names and add Eric Vanderaerden and Guido Bontempi, you may as well put Olaf Ludwig on there also

 

[skidmark]

The guy that won these races in a single year:

Omloop het Volk
Trofeo Laiguelia
nationaal kampioen op de baan, Derny, Elite.
Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
proloog Parijs-Nice
1a etappe Parijs-Nice
1b etappe Parijs-Nice
2e etappe Parijs-Nice
7b etappe Parijs-Nice
Eindklassement Parijs-Nice
1e etappe Catalaanse Week
4e etappe Catalaanse Week
5a etappe Catalaanse Week
5b etape Catalaanse Week
Eindklassement Catalaanse Week
1e etappe Ronde van Zwitserland
1e etappe Ronde van Spanje
2e etappe Ronde van Spanje
5e etappe Ronde van Spanje
6e etappe Ronde van Spanje
7e etappe Ronde van Spanje
8e etappe Ronde van Spanje
9e etappe Ronde van Spanje
11a etappe Ronde van Spanje
11b etappe Ronde van Spanje
13e etappe Ronde van Spanje
16e etappe Ronde van Spanje
19e etappe Ronde van Spanje
Eindklassement Ronde van Spanje
Puntenklassement Ronde van Spanje
proloog Ronde van Italië
1e etappe Ronde van Italië
4e etappe Ronde van Italië
6a etappe Ronde van Italië
6b etappe Ronde van Italië
7e etappe Ronde van Italië
8e etappe Ronde van Italië
proloog Ronde van Catalonië
1e etappe Ronde van Catalonië
3b etappe Ronde van Catalonië
4 etappe Ronde van Catalonië
7a etappe Ronde van Catalonië
Eindklassement Ronde van Catalonië
1e etappe Ronde van Sardinie
Eindklassement Ronde van Sardinië
3e etappe Ronde van Nederland
Super Prestige-Pernod
Zesdaagse van Antwerpen

This was also my thinking in voting.

 

[Fatclimber]

Sorry but am I the only one who thinks this list was a little shallow? Seriously Thor! Great bike rider but all time great of sprinting, hardly.

I agree. The vast majority on the list are still riding or recently retired. Cycling has been around for a long time, there was only one nominee for all-time great before the 90's? No doubt everyone on the lost is good but...

I'm looking forward to next year to see what Kittel can do.

 

[greenedge]

Cav will end up being the best. There will also probably be another sprinter friendly course in the next 8 or so years. 2006 should have been sprinter friendly but canny tactics and Il Grillo stole the show. I could envisage Cav winning on a similar course to that.
Cipo, Zabel, Maartens, Pettachi round out the top 5.

I do like Robbie, Oscar and Thor though, each for various reasons. Each of them struggled against the other and in their prime they might have challenged Cav. Cav does not have that strong sprinting opposition but Farrar/ Greipel now that they have won stages at the TDF might start to win more. Goss/ Sagan/ Kittel are still emerging as well.

 

[Cobblestoned]

High five to that Abdu voter

< Abdu

But seriously, Maertens, and for the beauty of it, Cipo and Ale Jet

Cav in their slipstream. Hard to call out the best. All eras had best specialist.
All time.
Looking forward to the next season very, very much. The HTC train was split into very interesting pieces of sprints. At least I hope so.
And we'll see what Cav can do then.

 

[Siriuscat]

We talk about the best riders of a generation when it comes to GT riders well Cav is the best sprinter of this generation and when the dust settles he will be the greatest EVER. If the poll wanted to talk about the greatest so far then it needed to take current sprinters out of the equation, it has them all there, Cav is best.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

We talk about the best riders of a generation when it comes to GT riders well Cav is the best sprinter of this generation and when the dust settles he will be the greatest EVER. If the poll wanted to talk about the greatest so far then it needed to take current sprinters out of the equation, it has them all there, Cav is best.

The problem is points on the board vs. potential for points. Making the not unreasonable assumption that Cavendish continues to accumulate high level results, he will more than likely assume the mantle of greatest sprinter ever by the time he retires. But for now, Maertens and Zabel have more banked, for my money. After all, all it takes is one awkward crash and Cavendish could lose what makes him so dominant, and then we'd be judging him on what might have been rather than what was. Plus, of course, you have the whole thing about what makes a sprinter great. It's all well and good having the fastest legs on the planet, but if you can't get over a speedbump you won't be there to contend for the win as often; Zabel would never be considered the quickest sprinter in the bunch, but his palmarès more than makes up for that. Ditto Freire. Even in their heydays they would never have touched Cav. They'd just win the races he couldn't.

Cavendish isn't "the greatest sprinter ever". Yet. He might be soon.

 

[SirLes]

I'm trying to imagine who would win the most times if all 10 of those sprinters were in the same bunch at the end of a race in their best form.

Mix the finish up a bit each time, ie long wide a straight, twisty and technical, slightly up hill or down hill etc and vary the distance covered prior to the finish.

I think Cav and Cipo would take the most but not sure between those two, who would come out best.

 

[Old School]

I agree. The vast majority on the list are still riding or recently retired. Cycling has been around for a long time, there was only one nominee for all-time great before the 90's? No doubt everyone on the lost is good but...

I agree on your thoughts.....but you gotta realize, for what it is, it wasn't until the 90s that we got to watch/see/view races on the regular...thanks to cable tv/satellite/internet. SO, the majority of us USING the internet to debate these "greatest of all" weren't around to witness riders from earlier times....so we can only vote on riders we have seen.

It is what it is....but that's the truth. It translates to other sports as well....futbol, boxing, track and field...basketball...

Was Micheal Jordan a better dunker than Dr. J? Was Jesse Owens better all around over Carl Lewis? Is Messi better than Pele? Mike Tyson better than Ali?

You see what I'm saying?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Of course, that happens in almost all lists, no?

As has been noted, Cav's career isn't over, or close, so it's hard to place him. If someone else comes along and challenges Cav and starts beating him... However, if others come along and challenge him for the next few years, and like Cipo he keeps winning anyway....

One other aspect is how one defines a sprinter, as noted in the article. Someone who wins some field sprints, group sprints, with a leadout or train, without a train, plus can make it over the mountains without a problem in GT's and take intermediate sprints, then I'd pick either Zabel or Kelly.

Or if you're thinking of a field sprinter who has no train, and no leadouts much at all, but can freelance no matter what the situation or conditions, I'd say McEwen.

At his absolute peak, for a season or two, Abu had the most explosive acceleration I think I ever saw in a sprinter. But that didn't last his entire career, and he was too wild, dangerous.