Pure climbers.

[Jason_Mercier]

Throughout history on cycling we've always had many representatives of this kind of cyclist. A historic cyclist. Most of them legends or brave riders with an great winning mentality and an admirable capacity for suffering. Suffice with go backwards in time and remenber past decades. Mythical climbers like Binda, Coppi, Gaul or Bahamontes. Poulidor, Van Impe, Battaglin, Ocaña or Fuente in the 70's, Millar, Delgado, Parra, Hampsten or Herrera in the 80's and more recently Leblanc, Pantani or Chiapucci in the 90's. After one of the worsts decades of the history of this sport in what refers of pure climbers nowadays we have big hopes in young guys like Thibaut Pinot, Nairo Quintana and the colombians, Joseph Dombrowski... IMO the future of this race mostly depends of them. Now i want to formulate the question i wanted to make since the beginning of this thread Who are the top ten pure climbers today? I want to clarify that for me a classic rider like Valverde, Nibali or Chris Froome arent pure climbers. Here's my list: 1) Alberto Contador 2) Andy Schleck 3) J. Rod 4) Thibaut Pinot 5) Jürgen Van Den Broeck 6) Pierre Rolland 7) Nairo Quintana 8) Robert Gesink 9) José Rujano 10) Domenico Pozzovivo. And another questions. Which generation of climbers of the last 50 years was better? Maybe the 70s? Will we overcome the current crisis of pure climbers thanks for the new hopes?

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Why is AC a pure climber?

 

[The Hitch]

I want to clarify that for me a classic rider like Valverde, Nibali or Chris Froome arent pure climbers.

Froome is a classics rider?

While LBL winner and podium finisher Schleck is not?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Why is AC a pure climber?

is this a joke??


the best climber ever and also the purest climber ever, was pantani.

 

[Jason_Mercier]

And another question. Are the current pure climbers lucky for live in the recent times where the routes are made for climbers with few kms of TT and the designers of GT's offers them stages of 170/180 kms as much? What had achieved Richard Virenque if he had lived this period?

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

is this a joke??


the best climber ever and also the purest climber ever, was pantani.

what i meant wa that Froome is probably taken out of the contest becasue he is a very good tter (?) but so i AC

 

[Jason_Mercier]

Froome is a classics rider?

While LBL winner and podium finisher Schleck is not?

a classic rider like Valverde and apart Froome or Nibali. Andy Schleck is a pure climber. The achievements dont matter. Only the conditions. And Andy Schleck has the conditions of a pure climber.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Why is AC a pure climber?

He isn't, but his climbing skills are still better than most (all?) of the so called pure climbers currently active and relevant at the top level.

 

[cineteq]

Right at this moment: Vincenzo Nibali, bar none.

 

[Jason_Mercier]

Alberto Contador is not a pure climber? LOL. For me yes. So its a subjective list. You can interpret the words "pure climber" as you want.

 

[RHRH19861986]

Throughout history on cycling we've always had many representatives of this kind of cyclist. A historic cyclist. Most of them legends or brave riders with an great winning mentality and an admirable capacity for suffering. Suffice with go backwards in time and remenber past decades. Mythical climbers like Binda, Coppi, Gaul or Bahamontes. Poulidor, Van Impe, Battaglin, Ocaña or Fuente in the 70's, Millar, Delgado, Parra, Hampsten or Herrera in the 80's and more recently Leblanc, Pantani or Chiapucci in the 90's. After one of the worsts decades of the history of this sport in what refers of pure climbers nowadays we have big hopes in young guys like Thibaut Pinot, Nairo Quintana and the colombians, Joseph Dombrowski... IMO the future of this race mostly depends of them. Now i want to formulate the question i wanted to make since the beginning of this thread Who are the top ten pure climbers today? I want to clarify that for me a classic rider like Valverde, Nibali or Chris Froome arent pure climbers. Here's my list: 1) Alberto Contador 2) Andy Schleck 3) J. Rod 4) Thibaut Pinot 5) Jürgen Van Den Broeck 6) Pierre Rolland 7) Nairo Quintana 8) Robert Gesink 9) José Rujano 10) Domenico Pozzovivo. And another questions. Which generation of climbers of the last 50 years was better? Maybe the 70s? Will we overcome the current crisis of pure climbers thanks for the new hopes?

If you define "pure climber" as someone who can´t sprint, can´t TT, can´t win a race like Roubaix, then I´d change most names you named. Quintana, Rujano and Pozzovivo can stay.

To add just a few:
Nieve
Santambrogio
Zaugg
Szmyd
Jelle Vanendert

All GC guys have to be good in climbing and TT, and in the important stage races, if they recover properly and keep their HCTs up, good climbers suddenly also show good TTs, remember 55-Kilo-Pantani.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Alberto Contador is not a pure climber? LOL. For me yes. So its a subjective list. You can interpretate the words "pure climber" as you want.

he is the best climber. A pure climber i would think is someone that pretty much just is visible in the high mountains? or atleast that is what i would think it means

 

[HiCadence]

1. Locke
2. Wiggins
3. Froome
4. Zubeldia
5. Horner
6. Valverde
7. moncoutie
8. Visconti
9. Contador
10. Gesink

 

[RHRH19861986]

Who claimed he was the best climber in the world behind Contador and Rodrigue? Wasn´t it Horner?

 

[shades1]

in recent years contador and schleck are a mile in front of all these young pretenders and if AS can recover fully from his injury there is still plenty more to come , not that many on this forum will agree as its just a contador love forum and pretty much hatred for schleck .

 

[jens_attacks]

right now rujano is the strongest pure climber in the world.
2013 will be a bloodbath

 

[Jason_Mercier]

1. Locke
2. Wiggins
3. Froome
4. Zubeldia
5. Horner
6. Valverde
7. moncoutie
8. Visconti
9. Contador
10. Gesink

Lol. Wow. Wtf

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Who claimed he was the best climber in the world behind Contador and Rodrigue? Wasn´t it Horner?

yeah, Horner but that was when he was in his forties.

 

[HiCadence]

Lol. Wow. Wtf

Yep WTF why isn't Machado in there :s damn.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Nah, Horner claimed to be the 2nd best climber in the world. Rujano claimed to be the 3rd best, naming Contador and Rodríguez as the top 2. At that point Rodríguez had only just moved from Caisse d'Epargne to Katyusha, so it was seen as crazy from that angle too.

Anyway, guys like Tiernan-Locke and Jelle Vanendert are a bit too classics-styled for me to think of as pure climbers, though I guess you could argue that that makes them little different to Purito.

You can also add André Cardoso, Sergio Pardilla and possibly Dan Martin (again, maybe a bit too much of a classics skillbase).

 

[Jason_Mercier]

I also think in Robert Kiserlovski.

 

[Marco Pantani]

Wow, a lot of experts around.

 

[LaFlorecita]

he is the best climber. A pure climber i would think is someone that pretty much just is visible in the high mountains? or atleast that is what i would think it means

See him climb and you know he is a pure climber he just happens to be a great tter too

 

[LaFlorecita]

in recent years contador and schleck are a mile in front of all these young pretenders and if AS can recover fully from his injury there is still plenty more to come , not that many on this forum will agree as its just a contador love forum and pretty much hatred for schleck .

Alberto is awesome that's why he is loved by a lot of posters, not by everyone mind.

 

[Jason_Mercier]

Michele Scarponi, Igor Antón, Mikel Landa, Gorka Verdugo, José Serpa, Darwin Atapuma, Robinson Chalapud, Winner Anacona, Fabio Aru, Kevin Seeldraeyers, Blel Kadri, Cyril Gautier, Hubert Dupont, Antonio Santoro, Tom Slagter, Matteo Rabottini, Gianluca Brambilla, Dario Cataldo, Laurens Ten Dam, Rafa Valls.... There are a lot of pure climbers but except the young guys which counts with the doubt benefit the rest dont have a top level.