Great Breakway Riders...

[The Hitch]

Oh yeah and Tondo in Paris Nice this year.

 

[blaxland]

Great Breakaway Riders?
Simon Gerrans.If he is in the break during a Grand Tour then the break will likely suceed..And he will win the stage....

 

[luckyboy]

More seriously, Moncoutie, Voeckler, Chavanel, lots of French guys.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Christophe Riblon has been in the top 10 of most time spent or gained in breakaways in the last three GTs he's entered.

 

[usedtobefast]

don't forget Jens Voight

 

[WonderLance]

"I'm not a revolutionary of any sort, but on the bike, I've always refused to come out of a mould. It astonishes me that most riders are followers, even sheep. A lot of them, the only people who know they're in the Tour are their directeurs sportifs. I couldn't do the job like that. They finish the Tour without having attacked once, maybe the whole of the season, even the whole of their career. I'd rather finish shattered and last having attacked a hundred times than finish 25th without having tried. Yes, I get ragged about it, but it's always in a friendly way. In the bunch, the guys know that Dudu is as likely to finish a long way behind them as first"

 

[NickBVK]

Barredo & Voeckler, straight off the top

 

[auscyclefan94]

Burghardt's 50km solo attack!!! Epic breakaway win which makes him a great breakaway rider.

Simon gerrans seems to be able to get into breakaways and win.

 

[Jukebox]

Perrick Fedrigo

 

[mortand]

Perrick Fedrigo

Seconded.

Pierrick Fedrigo is deadly in a breakaway, especially if it's on a lumpy/mountainous parcours. My favorite Fedrigo win is the stage he won in Dauphiné Libéré last year, the one to Briancon. He was dropped (slightly) from the breakaway on the ascent of Col d'Izoard, got back on the descent, and played it incredibly cool on that gorgeous uphill finish through Briancon, and flew past Jurgen van de Walle at the last meters. Perfection!

Such a classy rider.

 

[AngusW]

Thierry Marie. 1991 Tour de France stage to Le Havre (?). 234km solo breakaway resulting in a stage win and the yellow jersey.

(Sorry if someone's already mentioned him).

 

[roundabout]

Casar, 9 times first or second from breaks in the Tour in the last 6 years.

 

[El Pistolero]

Balls. So Cancellara hasn't got a winning weapon? When I was 15 I went an entire season unbeaten in criteriums even though I couldn't particularly sprint, including the national champs. Every single one was won with a solo attack in the last kilometre. A breakaway in itself is a winning weapon.

When Cancellara does a breakaway he's doing a time trial. --> His special weapon. An attack in the last km is not what I call a breakaway specialist. If so, then Gilbert is hands down the best.

 

[ferryman]

Slightly off topic (sorry but my fav breakaway stage:

''Tuesday July 11, 1989
Cauterets-Superbagnères, 136km

A sensational stage saw Scotland’s Robert Millar take all four major climbs then attack and outsprint his old enemy, the amazing Spaniard Pedro Delgado, to win this stage on the 1770-metre high climb of Luchon-Superbagnères.

Superb Millar also moved to second in the mountains classification, as he conquered the Pyrenean giants of the hors-category Col du Tourmalet, the Col d’Aspin, the Col de Peyresourde and finally, the climb of Superbagnères.''

If I remember, Millar attacked early and was solo over the first 3 climbs mentioned, was caught and dropped by PD on SuperB, only to ride back and take the sprint.

Epic. And there was carnage going on behind with Mottet, Fignon and Lemond. Fab fab stuff.

 

[pmcg76]

We are talking great Breakaway riders and nobody has mentioned Jacky Durand yet or did I miss a post.

Apologies to WonderLance, I somehow missed his post on the front page.

Others, Thomas Wegmuller, almost won Tour of Flanders(beaten by Durand) and Paris-Roubaix 88 in no hoper breakaways.

Peter De Clercq was another rider from the 90s who always seemed to get in the breakaways.

Ludo Diercksens.
Jens Voigt.

 

[skidmark]

Eros Poli.

 

[aarnold517]

got to throw in a vote for pre-suspension Chicken...three straight tours he won stages from breakaways, netting two KOM's and the yellow jersey before being kicked out...not to mention he had success in the vuelta and giro in breakaways

 

[Parrulo]

ya the chicken was a beast in montain stages breakaways.

i still remember the stage when he got the yellow and how he attacked on the first montain when there was already a breakaway and at the bottum of the last climb he just flew past them wining with 5 something minutes over the GC guys..

 

[ergmonkey]

Why didn't this thread end with the pictures of Durand?

 

[Anonymous]

Anybody that does a 200km break to win Flanders is in another league.

That guy rode a helluva lot of kms by himself. Bravo.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Virenque deserves a mention.

 

[phillop]

The best I remember watching is Erik Decker. Didn't he win 3 stages in one Tdf out of break aways. I remember one in particular that was so close him and the 1st sprinter where given the same time.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

o'grady used to get in lots of breaks. Was one of my favorite riders at the time.

Road captain O'Grady has been transparent.
Yeah he's old..I get it.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Barredo, Chavanel, Devolder 1 year ago, Voeckler, Gilbert, Fedrigo, Dierckxsens, Durand, Virenque too, Frank VDB

 

[Kwibus]

Fedrigo is really good atm. And he almost always wins when he is in the break.

Erik Dekker was a really good one too. Like someone mentioned a few posts above he won 3 stages in 1 TDF from breakaways.

Jacky Durand is legendary regarding breakaways.

Future top breakaway guy is Niki Terpstra

I'm talking about riders that breakaway on flat/slighty hilly stages. The guys that miss a weapon to win because they can't climb well or can't sprint.