Tonton said:Btw, I voted for Tibopino...I have a fanboy reputation at stake here. I had to stuff the ballot, but in all seriousness, Simon-says-catch-me-if-you-can has an edge on everybody else IMO. To answer the "how much credit should he get for almost winning Il Giro, I'd say something like 75%. Fignon Tour '89 would be 90% or so. I agree that it's debatable, but more importantly, Yates was there pretty much year round at the top of the food chain.
1. Simon Yates
Ahead of Geraint TooFast and Dawg, I have to give the second place to Valverde, although he only peaked for 296 days in '18. Winning big races, small races, and winning more year round. The definition of Rider of the Year, no? Not a great GT campaign for The Don, but GTs are not everything, as many here know. And the rainbow jersey, if we talk about rating comparisons, that's just below a GT IMO. It's a massive accomplishment...which is why Sagan takes a hit in many of the rankings posted here.
2. Alejandro Valverde
Sometimes we have to keep our reputations in tact at all costs. However, your boy had a very good Giro until he ended up in the hospital. Then came back and ended the season with a huge high.
I do think Yates has a good case for it. However, when el Bala continues to show he can hold an off peak for almost the entire season and then wins the one huge race that was missing from his palmares he has a great case as well.