Gilbert vs. Cancellara-who has the best chance of winning all 5 monuments?

[nvpacchi]

One of the most elusive titles in all of cycling, can either guy do it? Winning Milan-San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the Giro di Lombardia in a career places you in the cycling pantheon.

It has only been done three times by-Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, and Roger de Vlaeminck, so can anyone from today's era potentially etch their name next to these 3 greats?

Personally I feel Fabian Cancellara and Philippe Gilbert have the best shot that doing it. However I don't think either will accomplish it.

Cancellara has already won MSR, RvV, and PR, leaving him to win LBL and Lombardia. The downside is, he has never competed in either of the two hillier classics. But with all the talk of him becoming a potential GC threat, maybe he would be able to muscle his way up some punchy hills?

Gilbert has only won Lombardia, but his skill set puts him in contention to perform in nearly any style of one-day racing. He has podiumed twice in RvV, podiumed in LBL, and podiumed in MSR. He has proven his all-around strength in the classics, now he just needs a luck on his side.

These are my two picks for potential candidates. Do they stand a chance at winning all 5 in their career? Is there a rider I'm forgetting?

It would be great to see one of these two guys (or both) achieve this milestone in their career, even though the odds are extremely unlikely.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Don't see either of them doing it, but if i had to pick one, I'd say Gilbert. I just can't see Cancellera ever winning LBL. It would be extremely difficult for Gilbert to win Paris Roubaix, but it's probably more than Cancellera and LBL.

 

[roundabout]

Boasson Hagen?

I'm not ready to give up on him yet.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I never see Gilbert winning Paris Roubaix

And I can't see Cancellara ever winning Lombardia. (I do see him winning LBL though!)

 

[ericthesportsman6]

You could put Filippo Pozzato in the disscussion. Won Milan San Remo, second at Paris-Roubaix, 5th at Flanders. Still don't see him pulling it off, but you never know.

 

[Ryaguas]

Nop... They can't... Maybe and just maybe EBH but that depends of what style he is going to develop...

 

[roundabout]

Tafi won Lombardia. It all depends on the parcours really.

 

[nvpacchi]

Eddy B and I guess wonderboy Peter Sagan are potential candidates.

If neither guy can win all five, which one will win more unique monuments in his career?
I can't see Canc winning LBL and Lombardia. But I have no problem predicting that Gilbert will win LBL. RvV and MSR good chance, PR very difficult even though he said he wants to focus on that later in his career.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Eddy B and I guess wonderboy Peter Sagan are potential candidates.

If neither guy can win all five, which one will win more unique monuments in his career?
I can't see Canc winning LBL and Lombardia. But I have no problem predicting that Gilbert will win LBL. RvV and MSR good chance, PR very difficult even though he said he wants to focus on that later in his career.

Might as well name Lars Boom if you name Sagan, starting with long shots now.

 

[nvpacchi]

You could put Filippo Pozzato in the disscussion. Won Milan San Remo, second at Paris-Roubaix, 5th at Flanders. Still don't see him pulling it off, but you never know.

I was going to throw him in, but I felt he had the smallest chance of the three. And I completely forgot he won MSR

 

[kurtinsc]

Taylor Phinney.



I'm joking, I'm joking! Don't hit me!

 

[nvpacchi]

Might as well name Lars Boom if you name Sagan, starting with long shots now.

If people want to hype him up as a future Grand Tour winner, I may as well hpye him up as the ultimate one-day specialist.

 

[theyoungest]

Nop... They can't... Maybe and just maybe EBH but that depends of what style he is going to develop...

Yawn... EBH again. The guy who was dropped on every hill in the Tour de France. He's a long long way from winning LBL or Lombardia. Or even Flanders.

I don't think Cancellara can win Lombardia, I don't think Gilbert can win Roubaix... but if I really have to choose I'd say Gilbert.

 

[kurtinsc]

I guess I'd go Cancellera. He's already got 3 of the 5. He'd need to change his focus and make some strides to get Lombardia and Liege... but I guess it could happen.

 

[Magnus]

Considering how well Fabian did in the mendrisio wc rr and at the olympics in beijing I'ld guess he has a good shot at LBL and GdL. Am I missing something?

 

[Ryaguas]

Yawn... EBH again. The guy who was dropped on every hill in the Tour de France. He's a long long way from winning LBL or Lombardia. Or even Flanders.

He is really young... you have to give him the opportunity

 

[santacruz]

Fabian might need a few battery changes from all those hills.

 

[The Hitch]

Cancellara obviously has the best shot, considering how well he did in Mendrisio. The problem with lbl is that, more than the other classics, you need luck. Saxo went into PR, RVV and even msr a few years ago, knowing that only Cancellara could win it for them. At LBL its a lot about luck. Vino wasn’t Astanas best hope, but the way the cards played out, it was he who got them the victory. Its about attacking at the right time, yet its impossible to know when the right time is. We saw this year Vino and Contador kept attacking once the other was brought back. Vino had no way of knowing that his 2nd attack would be the charm. As far as he knew, that 2nd attack could have been the launching pad for a contador win. You could be the strongest in the race but if you don’t attack at the right time you wont win, and each year, that “right time” is at a different point in the race, there is no way of knowing when that is.
As for others, I see valverde winning msr and lombardia, but obviously not the cobbled ones

I guess if you look at some of the younger riders, one or 2 of them have the potential to win all 5. For ebh that ship may have sailed. But a few of these young Australians and Americans, and of course Sagan. He is a very powerful rider (could win PR/ RVV) has a mad sprint (MSR) and can climb and then some ( LBL, GDL)

 

[hrotha]

He is really young... you have to give him the opportunity

Haven't you been reading this forum? Sagan is going to win everything, Boasson Hagen is just hype, Kreuziger is already on his way down and Van Garderen should be on the podium in the Vuelta. If you haven't won the TdF at 23 you're a nobody!

 

[theyoungest]

He is really young... you have to give him the opportunity

He's not that young, you know... 23 years old. Andy Schleck was 22 when he finished 4th in LBL, and 4th in Lombardia. And he won LBL at 23. Gesink was 22 when he finished 3d in Amstel Gold.

EBH has done nothing in any of the real classics. Partly due to injury, of course, but let him first show something in a classic, and then we'll know what he's capable of.

 

[Ryaguas]

Haven't you been reading this forum? Sagan is going to win everything, Boasson Hagen is just hype, Kreuziger is already on his way down and Van Garderen should be on the podium in the Vuelta. If you haven't won the TdF at 23 you're a nobody!

Hahahahaha yeah yeah

He's not that young, you know... 23 years old. Andy Schleck was 22 when he finished 4th in LBL, and 4th in Lombardia. And he won LBL at 23. Gesink was 22 when he finished 3d in Amstel Gold.

Everybody develops in a diff way... 23 years old in cycling is like being a baby... Andy, Gesink, etc... are exceptions... that's why an opportunity to EBH... Just 2 or 3 years more if nothing happens well I can send him to the recycle bin..

 

[LKing25]

Really outside bet but Geraint Thomas really impressed with his performance in La Grande Boucle and being a former winner of Paris-Roubaix U23 he could develop into a possible future Classics specialist.

 

[santacruz]

When you put a twig like Andy in a race involving climbing, against a beef cake like Fabian, Fabian has the smallest fraction in hell's chance of winning... He would need an even more insane amount of power to counter balance his fat disadvantage against gravity. Not possible in the modern era of specialists...

 

[ingsve]

I think Cancellara would have an easier time transforming into a LBL winner than Gilbert winning Roubaix. Cancellara would need to become 5-10 kg lighter however so the question is if he's willing to go through that change. At his present condition he would need some huge luck getting in the right late break where better riders gets left behind fighting over who should pull or something like that. He won't do it on his own the way he is now.

 

[la.margna]

additional candidates might be (as already mentioned):

-EBH
-Sagan
-AC
-Vino could have done it I'd say, if he had started earlier, but he had never a particular focus on Flanders and/or Roubaix, so

-Gilbert might achieve it, but the Roubaix one is gonna be the very hard one

-FC has the unique ability to strongly focus on a handful of targets per season where he mostly suceeds. However, his transformation to a GC rider or stronger hilly course rider has not yet started. As it will reduce is powering away ability for courses such as PR, Vlaanderen and MSR, it is really a dangerous play... Will be interesting to see whether he takes the risk for this transformation.