Favourite Cycling Moment

[franciep10]

Personally Mine is Greg Lemond winning the Tour that made me fall in love with cycling

 

[e-fred]

clipping in... at the start of a ride.

 

[ElChingon]

Hinault winning the last stage of the 1979 tour wearing YELLOW! Talk about no gifts and being the Patron! Just think about it wearing the Yellow jersey, winning the last TT then on the next and last day winning in Paris wearing Yellow the classic sprinters stage! Now that is being a Bad A** if there ever was! Beat that!

 

[slowoldman]

Alexi Grewal winning the Road Race at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. I fell in love with the cycling events. I watched all the track events too. When Greg won in 1986 it further cemented my love affair with cycling. I was there when Armstrong won his record setting sixth Tour. (Love him or hate him, it was great to be there.)

Now, honestly, my favorite cycling moment is when I pin on a number. I love racing my bike. The comraderie at the start line, the pain and suffering during the event. The relief and sense of accomplishment when you finish (especially if you or a teammate win). The fish tales afterward. I love it all.

Ironically, I now race against some of those 84 Olympians, which I guess takes it full circle.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I'll credit LeMond for sparking my interest back in '86. But as far as "favorite moments" go, I would have to pick Andy Hampsten in a snow storm on the Gavia pass taking the '88 Giro by the horns. That was epic!

 

[marinoni]

Favorite cycling moment

Two things- The first day of the 01 Tour was the first time I got to see it live. That was a definite thrill. In contrast I remember the old days when CBS offered a weekend highlight package. I loved it at the time but really it was awful. I remember one year(86 I think) they introduced the La Vie Claire team like an american football team. Each rider would run up to the camera and say, for instance, Greg Lemond, United States! Lemond looked embarrassed, the Euros just looked bemused and kind of puzzled.
The other thing is the 03 worlds in Hamilton, my first time at a big pro race. The first day I literally bumped into Ekimov and had quite a good conversation with Bernard Thevenet who was sitting at the next table in a restaurant. The entire week was like that with me constantly saying to myself, "I can't believe I'm really seeing this!"

 

[franciep10]

I'm so upset about this but in 1999 watching the tour I almost cried when Lance showed up in Paris, but now i feel like I was cheated on.

 

[BikeCentric]

I'm so upset about this but in 1999 watching the tour I almost cried when Lance showed up in Paris, but now i feel like I was cheated on.

Ditto. Armstrong inspired me to start riding a road bike after that Tour in '99.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm with Franciep10 too. Lemond's 1989 Tour win was something. It was so inspiring. It changed me a little , it changed the sport a little too.

Feel the same way about 1999 too.

On a personal level - The hardest I ever rode in my life was racing and getting 3rd in a ITT once. I drained everything, but afterwards felt like I truly knew what the limit was.

Some more personal favorites are some of the big mountainous rides I've done in the Sierras and Cascades. There's something incredibly immediate and in the moment of being somewhere like Windy Ridge on Mt. St. Helens, Tioga Pass going into Yosemite, Minaret Summit in the Sierras, Ski Bowl on Mt. Humphreys in Arizona, etc. You see things you don't in a car, or on foot. And there's an incredible challenge of riding up, and a great thrill of riding down.

 

[Anonymous]

think weve done this one before.. but...

#1 stephen roche on la plagne in 87 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQojh-wqL04
#2 sean kelly - PR in the mud 1984 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKhU9X2Hjbw
#3 "that" time trial in paris
#4 Lances first tour win after the illness
#5 cavvy getting his first classic.. recent.. but what a moment..

 

[Jacques Tati]

Armstrong getting left behind in the dolomites.....Giro 2009.

 

[franciep10]

Armstrong getting left behind in the dolomites.....Giro 2009.

don't start it don't hijack this thread

 

[pmcg76]

The 1989 Tour is also what got me ito cycling, Sean Kelly winning Milan-San Remo in 92 was also inspiring.

On a perosnal note, I dont do much cycling these days but I done the Tour of Flanders cyclosportive last year, on the steep part of the Muur, the guy in front of me had to stop cos his gears jammed, I had to do a trackstand on the Muur!!! a Belgian spectator rushed to give me a push and shout encoragement, I managed to get going myself and really enjoyed the rest of the Muur with people cheering us on, very special memory. Felt like a real pro.

 

[gingerwallaceafro]

Robert Millar winning the stage on Guzet Neige and taking the KOM classification in the '83 tour got me hooked.

 

[marinoni]

Greatest moment

I'll agree with many others that the finish of the 89 Tour was amazing. However theres a funny story(well now its funny) about how it was kind of ruined for me. The broadcast was on that sunday in North America at 5pm. I knew that no matter what happened it would be exciting so all day I avoided TV and radio so that whatever happened, it would be a surprise to me. So at 4:58 I sit down in front of the TV happy that I've made it without hearing any results. Then, the last ad/promo before the broadcast is one of those "heres whats coming up at 6 on Eyewitness news" kind of things. Sure enough, "And in sports, American Greg Lemond wins the Tour de France by 8 seconds!"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

It was still pretty damn cool though.

 

[Juan Pelota]

Floyds comeback in Stage 17 was the greatest thing I've ever seen in the history of sports.

 

[ElChingon]

Floyds comeback in Stage 17 was the greatest thing I've ever seen in the history of sports.

You obviously didn't read my post

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Though the aftermath was disappointing, that was a very exciting ride to witness. See my post in the "Why Does Floyd Suck?" thread for more.

Great story pmcg76 . A friend rode up Alpe d'Huez the morning of the Tour one year and he said it was incredible the fans cheering him on. It felt surreal. Still hope to ride something like that in my lifetime before I'm too old.

 

[ElChingon]

Great story pmcg76 . A friend rode up Alpe d'Huez the morning of the Tour one year and he said it was incredible the fans cheering him on. It felt surreal. Still hope to ride something like that in my lifetime before I'm too old.

Riding any stage the day of especially a climb you'll get cheered on like the pro's even pushes if its getting close to race time and you're still on the road. Its great, a sure thing for all true fans to experience, do it now while you can.

Those are the days you actually experience the true fans! That experience alone is one upon to itself in all sports.

 

[tashimi76]

Some of these are a little lame but special in my memories! Sorry but most are recent.

1. Fabian Cancellara bringing the gap to the lead group in the 08 Olympics.

2. Fabian Cancellara almost catching the motorbikes during the London 07 TDF prologue and then taking the win.

3. Fabina Cancellara winning a stage by getting away from the bunch a few days after number 2.

4. In Hell on Wheels (TDF 03) the shot of Kloeden in the prologue coming around the corner smiling (or grimacing perhaps!) as if to say 'this is so much fun, such a rush'.

5. Bernard Hinault pushing the protester off the podium during last years TDF.

6. John-Lee Augustyn's crash during last years TDF where he went over the edge on the highest peak.

7. Frank Schleck's crash last year during Tour de Swiss (not really the crash but it was so exciting with him in the lead bunch and then he was down a ravine). In fact the whole race was preetty exciting.

8. Ullrich's ITT win in 2003.

9. Tyler Hamilton's various wins with broken collarbones.

10. Finish of 1976 Paris-Roubaix (as seen in A Sunday in Hell) where DeMeyer has been working for his captain all day then gets to ride for himself when Maertens crashes out and wins the sprint over RDV.

11. Oscar Periero 'winning' the 06 TDF with that long break. And infact any break he did in the previous 2 TDFs as well.

12. Any close finish as in Cavendish & Haussler in this year's Milan-Sanremo.

13. Eddy Merckx fixing his saddle.

 

[quadsRme]

Let's beat a dead horse

Just kiddin ! 1989 Greg Lemond beating Laurent Fignon in the final stage. Wow!! That to me was probably the greatest moments in cycling that I watched on my old analog 19 inch TV. But it was larger than life. I was so excited for Greg to pull that race out of his aero bars.

 

[El Imbatido]

2002 Vuelta on the Angliru

Where Roberto Heras won the stage in driving rain. Itor Gonzalez attacked Oscar Sevilla his team mate and race leader at the time. David Millar also threw his bike on the side of the road and famously said We are not animals.

In my opinion just gold

 

[180mmCrank]

I would second many of the favourite mo9ments listed above and add - more recently for me it has to be Nicole Cooke in Beijing - awesome.

 

[badboygolf16v]

The first time I took notice of cycling was when I saw a review of the '86 TdF, the dramatic image of Hinault and Lemond crossing the line on the top of Alpe d'Huez started my love affair with the sport.

My memory's not that great but here are some moments that spring to mind.

- Greg Lemond's win in '89
- Indurain on the Hautacam and his finish into Liege
- Fondriest and Jaja's attacks on the Poggio in Milan San Remo
- the apocalyptic stage to Les Arcs in the '96 TdF
- any attack by Pantani in his halcyon days, take your pick
- Tchmil and Museeuw's battle in Paris Roubaix
- Boardman's battle with Indurain and Olano in the '96 Olympic TT

There are many more but I'll stop there...

 

[bikepure]

first road win, followed by the Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, paris roubaix win in 1993. fisrt time racing round the roads in flanders in a opel kadett after the french aging star