As a child in the late eighties I wondered why cycling, unlike tennis, didn't have a decent world ranking. So I started keeping my own list: 50 points for the Tour winner, 25 points for Paris-Roubaix etc. It was very incomplete, based on the results I found in newspapers. Later, in the late 1990s, I started doing it again. That time I started using books on cycling with old results to compile an all-time list. It's hard to decide which result is worth how many points. What's worth more: finishing third in the Tour, winning three sprint stages in the Giro, or winning Gent-Wevelgem? I came quite far back then, but I stopped keeping track in the following years.
Now with the Internet it's easier to look up old results, so after years of postponing I had a new attempt at compiling an all-time list based on points. The point system is just the one I've been using for myself; it has no official value. It's mostly about wins in big races. I'm too lazy to count every stage win in one-week races and all those places of honour. I'm sure I've also made a lot of mistakes, because I'm too lazy to check everything twice. So I made a ranking which is, as the title says, only a rough attempt at an all-time list. It only gives a basic idea of what an all-time ranking of men's road cycling could look like if it was done properly.
This is the point system [Edited 10/15/2023]:
Stage races:
*60/25/10/8/6/5/4/3/2/1 for top 10 GC in Tour
*40/20/8/6/5/4/3/2/1/1 for top 10 GC in Giro/Vuelta
*20 points for GC win in Paris-Nice/Dauphiné/Tirreno/Basque Country/Suisse
*10 points for GC win in Critérium International/Midi Libre/Catalunya/Burgos/Romandie
*5 points for GC win in smaller stage race
*5 points for stage/points classification/King of the mountains in Tour
*4 points for stage/points classification/King of the mountains in Giro/Vuelta
*2 points for stage in Paris-Nice/Tirreno/Basque Country/Dauphiné/Suisse
Championships:
*40/16/8 points for top 3 road race at WC/Olympics since 1996
*10 points for road race at EC//NC France/Belgium/Italy/Spain
*5 points for road race other countries
*20/10/5 points for top 3 ITT at WC/Olympics since 1996
*5 points for ITT at EC//NC France/Belgium/Italy/Spain
*3 points for ITT other countries
Classics:
*25/10/5 points for top 3 Monument
*15 points for GP des Nations/Gent-Wevelgem/Flèche Wallonne/Amstel/Strade Bianche/San Sebastián
*10 points for Omloop/E3/Emilia/Milan-Turin/Plouay/Paris-Tours/Bordeaux-Paris/Züri Metzgete/Hamburg
*5 points for other semi-classics
In case of a tie the biggest win makes the difference.
Of course this could lead to endless discussions about what is worth how many points. This system was not designed to benefit certain riders. One specific problem for the current century are the many disqualifications and Green Table decisions. I decided to follow the official results, even if I disagree personally with certain decisions.
The result contains quite a few surprises: some riders finished much higher or lower than I expected myself. Hard workers with a long and steady career finish higher than cyclists with three fabulous seasons who faded afterwards. Some almost forgotten names finish higher than some of the big stars. All-round riders tend to do better than specialists of one discipline. I'm thinking of presenting the top list as a countdown in this thread. In spite of its obvious flaws I think the result is quite interesting and can lead to good discussions in the winter season.
This is the top 200 with active riders in bold. [Updated: 22 September, 2024.]
1 | Eddy Merckx | 2027
2 | Bernard Hinault | 1266
3 | Jacques Anquetil | 1075
4 | Fausto Coppi | 1032
5 | Gino Bartali | 1009
6 | Sean Kelly | 958
7 | Alejandro Valverde | 921
8 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 873
9 | Tadej Pogačar | 832
10 | Francesco Moser | 830
11 | Alfredo Binda | 789
12 | Felice Gimondi | 778
13 | Costante Girardengo | 765
14 | Miguel Induráin | 740
15 | Rik Van Looy | 688
16 | Primož Roglič | 685
17 | Joop Zoetemelk | 657
18 | Chris Froome | 656
19 | Fabian Cancellara | 637
20 | Louison Bobet | 621
21 | Alberto Contador | 619
22 | Laurent Jalabert | 619
23 | Tony Rominger | 600
24 | Giuseppe Saronni | 599
25 | Vincenzo Nibali | 594
26 | Freddy Maertens | 594
27 | Tom Boonen | 523
28 | Peter Sagan | 520
29 | Rik Van Steenbergen | 484
30 | Fiorenzo Magni | 475
31 | Learco Guerra | 474
32 | Ferdi Kübler | 473
33 | Philippe Gilbert | 454
34 | Franco Bitossi | 452
35 | Johan Museeuw | 446
36 | Erik Zabel | 442
37 | Luis Ocaña | 441
38 | Mario Cipollini | 436
39 | Paolo Bettini | 432
40 | Remco Evenepoel | 430
41 | Greg LeMond | 429
42 | Raymond Poulidor | 425
43 | Jan Ullrich | 423
44 | Gianni Bugno | 423
45 | Mark Cavendish | 420
46 | Laurent Fignon | 418
47 | Jan Raas | 416
48 | Moreno Argentin | 409
49 | Nairo Quintana | 388
50 | Nicolas Frantz | 385
51 | Alex Zülle | 378
52 | Joaquim Rodríguez | 377
53 | Herman Vanspringel | 369
54 | Oscar Freire | 359
55 | Alexander Vinokourov | 356
56 | Wout van Aert | 351
57 | Charly Gaul | 348
58 | Hugo Koblet | 339
59 | Mathieu van der Poel | 339
60 | Walter Godefroot | 336
61 | Michele Bartoli | 335
62 | Gaetano Belloni | 334
63 | Jan Janssen | 332
64 | Henri Pélissier | 332
65 | Antonin Magne | 331
66 | Charly Mottet | 324
67 | André Leducq | 323
68 | Stephen Roche | 322
69 | Pedro Delgado | 322
70 | Giovanni Brunero | 322
71 | Bernard Thévenet | 317
72 | Claudio Chiappucci | 317
73 | Julian Alaphilippe | 311
74 | Jonas Vingegaard | 309
75 | Cadel Evans | 309
76 | François Faber | 307
77 | Philippe Thys | 305
78 | Vittorio Adorni | 303
79 | Abraham Olano | 303
80 | Rudi Altig | 303
81 | Alessandro Petacchi | 300
82 | Hennie Kuiper | 296
83 | Roberto Heras | 289
84 | Gustave Garrigou | 284
85 | Davide Rebellin | 276
86 | Briek Schotte | 275
87 | Gianbattista Baronchelli | 273
88 | Bradley Wiggins | 269
89 | Fred De Bruyne | 265
90 | Gianni Motta | 264
91 | André Darrigade | 263
92 | Nino Defilippis | 262
93 | Lucien Van Impe | 261
94 | Gilberto Simoni | 258
95 | Phil Anderson | 255
96 | Federico Bahamontes | 254
97 | Marino Lejarreta | 253
98 | Damiano Cunego | 252
99 | Stan Ockers | 249
100 | Tony Martin | 246
101 | Geraint Thomas | 245
102 | Julián Berrendero | 242
103 | Eric Vanderaerden | 242
104 | Marco Pantani | 241
105 | Michał Kwiatkowski | 240
106 | Michel Pollentier | 237
107 | Danilo Di Luca | 234
108 | Rolf Sørensen | 234
109 | Francesco Casagrande | 234
110 | Jean Stablinski | 232
111 | Samuel Sánchez | 231
112 | Pascal Richard | 227
113 | Delio Rodríguez | 226
114 | Raymond Impanis | 224
115 | Richard Carapaz | 223
116 | Greg Van Avermaet | 222
117 | Sylvère Maes | 221
118 | Lucien Petit-Breton | 218
119 | Gastone Nencini | 218
120 | Dietrich Thurau | 218
121 | Alexander Kristoff | 216
122 | Ivan Basso | 211
123 | Octave Lapize | 210
124 | Marcel Kint | 210
125 | Tom Dumoulin | 208
126 | Gerrie Knetemann | 208
127 | Arnaud Démare | 207
128 | Thor Hushovd | 206
129 | Carlos Sastre | 205
130 | Robbie McEwen | 204
131 | Denis Menchov | 203
132 | Stefano Garzelli | 202
133 | Adrie van der Poel | 202
134 | Claude Criquielion | 200
135 | Luis Herrera | 198
136 | Miguel María Lasa | 198
137 | Michele Dancelli | 197
138 | Pavel Tonkov | 196
139 | Ottavio Bottecchia | 195
140 | Giovanni Battaglin | 195
141 | Eddy Planckaert | 195
142 | Giuseppe Olmo | 194
143 | Richard Virenque | 193
144 | Georges Ronsse | 192
145 | Miguel Poblet | 192
146 | José Manuel Fuente | 189
147 | Jean Alavoine | 189
148 | Guido Bontempi | 187
149 | Georges Speicher | 186
150 | Heiri Suter | 185
151 | Maurizio Fondriest | 182
152 | Andy Schleck | 181
153 | Andrei Tchmil | 181
154 | Frans Verbeeck | 181
155 | Mariano Cañardo | 180
156 | Egan Bernal | 177
157 | Filippo Pozzato | 176
158 | Mads Pedersen | 176
159 | Peter Van Petegem | 174
160 | Adolfo Leoni | 174
161 | Carlo Galetti | 172
162 | John Degenkolb | 172
163 | Joaquim Agostinho | 172
164 | Maurice De Waele | 171
165 | Ercole Baldini | 171
166 | Jakob Fuglsang | 170
167 | Luigi Ganna | 170
168 | Italo Zilioli | 170
169 | Louis Trousselier | 168
170 | Germain Derycke | 168
171 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 168
172 | Erik Breukink | 168
173 | Andreas Klöden | 167
174 | Rui Costa | 166
175 | Pasquale Fornara | 166
176 | Roger Pingeon | 164
177 | Roger Lapébie | 164
178 | Franco Balmamion | 164
179 | Tom Simpson | 163
180 | Simon Yates | 163
181 | Jef Planckaert | 163
182 | Tom Steels | 161
183 | Firmin Lambot | 160
184 | Gaston Rebry | 159
185 | Domingo Perurena | 158
186 | Laurent Dufaux | 157
187 | Robert Millar | 156
188 | Ritchie Porte | 156
189 | Andrew Hampsten | 155
190 | Andrea Tafi | 155
191 | Filippo Ganna 155
192 | Giovanni Valetti | 154
193 | Daniel Martin | 154
194 | Steven Rooks | 154
195 | Eric Leman | 154
196 | Fränk Schleck | 154
197 | Rigoberto Urán | 154
198 | Marino Basso | 153
199 | André Greipel | 153
200 | Paolo Savoldelli | 152
Now with the Internet it's easier to look up old results, so after years of postponing I had a new attempt at compiling an all-time list based on points. The point system is just the one I've been using for myself; it has no official value. It's mostly about wins in big races. I'm too lazy to count every stage win in one-week races and all those places of honour. I'm sure I've also made a lot of mistakes, because I'm too lazy to check everything twice. So I made a ranking which is, as the title says, only a rough attempt at an all-time list. It only gives a basic idea of what an all-time ranking of men's road cycling could look like if it was done properly.
This is the point system [Edited 10/15/2023]:
Stage races:
*60/25/10/8/6/5/4/3/2/1 for top 10 GC in Tour
*40/20/8/6/5/4/3/2/1/1 for top 10 GC in Giro/Vuelta
*20 points for GC win in Paris-Nice/Dauphiné/Tirreno/Basque Country/Suisse
*10 points for GC win in Critérium International/Midi Libre/Catalunya/Burgos/Romandie
*5 points for GC win in smaller stage race
*5 points for stage/points classification/King of the mountains in Tour
*4 points for stage/points classification/King of the mountains in Giro/Vuelta
*2 points for stage in Paris-Nice/Tirreno/Basque Country/Dauphiné/Suisse
Championships:
*40/16/8 points for top 3 road race at WC/Olympics since 1996
*10 points for road race at EC//NC France/Belgium/Italy/Spain
*5 points for road race other countries
*20/10/5 points for top 3 ITT at WC/Olympics since 1996
*5 points for ITT at EC//NC France/Belgium/Italy/Spain
*3 points for ITT other countries
Classics:
*25/10/5 points for top 3 Monument
*15 points for GP des Nations/Gent-Wevelgem/Flèche Wallonne/Amstel/Strade Bianche/San Sebastián
*10 points for Omloop/E3/Emilia/Milan-Turin/Plouay/Paris-Tours/Bordeaux-Paris/Züri Metzgete/Hamburg
*5 points for other semi-classics
In case of a tie the biggest win makes the difference.
Of course this could lead to endless discussions about what is worth how many points. This system was not designed to benefit certain riders. One specific problem for the current century are the many disqualifications and Green Table decisions. I decided to follow the official results, even if I disagree personally with certain decisions.
The result contains quite a few surprises: some riders finished much higher or lower than I expected myself. Hard workers with a long and steady career finish higher than cyclists with three fabulous seasons who faded afterwards. Some almost forgotten names finish higher than some of the big stars. All-round riders tend to do better than specialists of one discipline. I'm thinking of presenting the top list as a countdown in this thread. In spite of its obvious flaws I think the result is quite interesting and can lead to good discussions in the winter season.
This is the top 200 with active riders in bold. [Updated: 22 September, 2024.]
1 | Eddy Merckx | 2027
2 | Bernard Hinault | 1266
3 | Jacques Anquetil | 1075
4 | Fausto Coppi | 1032
5 | Gino Bartali | 1009
6 | Sean Kelly | 958
7 | Alejandro Valverde | 921
8 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 873
9 | Tadej Pogačar | 832
10 | Francesco Moser | 830
11 | Alfredo Binda | 789
12 | Felice Gimondi | 778
13 | Costante Girardengo | 765
14 | Miguel Induráin | 740
15 | Rik Van Looy | 688
16 | Primož Roglič | 685
17 | Joop Zoetemelk | 657
18 | Chris Froome | 656
19 | Fabian Cancellara | 637
20 | Louison Bobet | 621
21 | Alberto Contador | 619
22 | Laurent Jalabert | 619
23 | Tony Rominger | 600
24 | Giuseppe Saronni | 599
25 | Vincenzo Nibali | 594
26 | Freddy Maertens | 594
27 | Tom Boonen | 523
28 | Peter Sagan | 520
29 | Rik Van Steenbergen | 484
30 | Fiorenzo Magni | 475
31 | Learco Guerra | 474
32 | Ferdi Kübler | 473
33 | Philippe Gilbert | 454
34 | Franco Bitossi | 452
35 | Johan Museeuw | 446
36 | Erik Zabel | 442
37 | Luis Ocaña | 441
38 | Mario Cipollini | 436
39 | Paolo Bettini | 432
40 | Remco Evenepoel | 430
41 | Greg LeMond | 429
42 | Raymond Poulidor | 425
43 | Jan Ullrich | 423
44 | Gianni Bugno | 423
45 | Mark Cavendish | 420
46 | Laurent Fignon | 418
47 | Jan Raas | 416
48 | Moreno Argentin | 409
49 | Nairo Quintana | 388
50 | Nicolas Frantz | 385
51 | Alex Zülle | 378
52 | Joaquim Rodríguez | 377
53 | Herman Vanspringel | 369
54 | Oscar Freire | 359
55 | Alexander Vinokourov | 356
56 | Wout van Aert | 351
57 | Charly Gaul | 348
58 | Hugo Koblet | 339
59 | Mathieu van der Poel | 339
60 | Walter Godefroot | 336
61 | Michele Bartoli | 335
62 | Gaetano Belloni | 334
63 | Jan Janssen | 332
64 | Henri Pélissier | 332
65 | Antonin Magne | 331
66 | Charly Mottet | 324
67 | André Leducq | 323
68 | Stephen Roche | 322
69 | Pedro Delgado | 322
70 | Giovanni Brunero | 322
71 | Bernard Thévenet | 317
72 | Claudio Chiappucci | 317
73 | Julian Alaphilippe | 311
74 | Jonas Vingegaard | 309
75 | Cadel Evans | 309
76 | François Faber | 307
77 | Philippe Thys | 305
78 | Vittorio Adorni | 303
79 | Abraham Olano | 303
80 | Rudi Altig | 303
81 | Alessandro Petacchi | 300
82 | Hennie Kuiper | 296
83 | Roberto Heras | 289
84 | Gustave Garrigou | 284
85 | Davide Rebellin | 276
86 | Briek Schotte | 275
87 | Gianbattista Baronchelli | 273
88 | Bradley Wiggins | 269
89 | Fred De Bruyne | 265
90 | Gianni Motta | 264
91 | André Darrigade | 263
92 | Nino Defilippis | 262
93 | Lucien Van Impe | 261
94 | Gilberto Simoni | 258
95 | Phil Anderson | 255
96 | Federico Bahamontes | 254
97 | Marino Lejarreta | 253
98 | Damiano Cunego | 252
99 | Stan Ockers | 249
100 | Tony Martin | 246
101 | Geraint Thomas | 245
102 | Julián Berrendero | 242
103 | Eric Vanderaerden | 242
104 | Marco Pantani | 241
105 | Michał Kwiatkowski | 240
106 | Michel Pollentier | 237
107 | Danilo Di Luca | 234
108 | Rolf Sørensen | 234
109 | Francesco Casagrande | 234
110 | Jean Stablinski | 232
111 | Samuel Sánchez | 231
112 | Pascal Richard | 227
113 | Delio Rodríguez | 226
114 | Raymond Impanis | 224
115 | Richard Carapaz | 223
116 | Greg Van Avermaet | 222
117 | Sylvère Maes | 221
118 | Lucien Petit-Breton | 218
119 | Gastone Nencini | 218
120 | Dietrich Thurau | 218
121 | Alexander Kristoff | 216
122 | Ivan Basso | 211
123 | Octave Lapize | 210
124 | Marcel Kint | 210
125 | Tom Dumoulin | 208
126 | Gerrie Knetemann | 208
127 | Arnaud Démare | 207
128 | Thor Hushovd | 206
129 | Carlos Sastre | 205
130 | Robbie McEwen | 204
131 | Denis Menchov | 203
132 | Stefano Garzelli | 202
133 | Adrie van der Poel | 202
134 | Claude Criquielion | 200
135 | Luis Herrera | 198
136 | Miguel María Lasa | 198
137 | Michele Dancelli | 197
138 | Pavel Tonkov | 196
139 | Ottavio Bottecchia | 195
140 | Giovanni Battaglin | 195
141 | Eddy Planckaert | 195
142 | Giuseppe Olmo | 194
143 | Richard Virenque | 193
144 | Georges Ronsse | 192
145 | Miguel Poblet | 192
146 | José Manuel Fuente | 189
147 | Jean Alavoine | 189
148 | Guido Bontempi | 187
149 | Georges Speicher | 186
150 | Heiri Suter | 185
151 | Maurizio Fondriest | 182
152 | Andy Schleck | 181
153 | Andrei Tchmil | 181
154 | Frans Verbeeck | 181
155 | Mariano Cañardo | 180
156 | Egan Bernal | 177
157 | Filippo Pozzato | 176
158 | Mads Pedersen | 176
159 | Peter Van Petegem | 174
160 | Adolfo Leoni | 174
161 | Carlo Galetti | 172
162 | John Degenkolb | 172
163 | Joaquim Agostinho | 172
164 | Maurice De Waele | 171
165 | Ercole Baldini | 171
166 | Jakob Fuglsang | 170
167 | Luigi Ganna | 170
168 | Italo Zilioli | 170
169 | Louis Trousselier | 168
170 | Germain Derycke | 168
171 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 168
172 | Erik Breukink | 168
173 | Andreas Klöden | 167
174 | Rui Costa | 166
175 | Pasquale Fornara | 166
176 | Roger Pingeon | 164
177 | Roger Lapébie | 164
178 | Franco Balmamion | 164
179 | Tom Simpson | 163
180 | Simon Yates | 163
181 | Jef Planckaert | 163
182 | Tom Steels | 161
183 | Firmin Lambot | 160
184 | Gaston Rebry | 159
185 | Domingo Perurena | 158
186 | Laurent Dufaux | 157
187 | Robert Millar | 156
188 | Ritchie Porte | 156
189 | Andrew Hampsten | 155
190 | Andrea Tafi | 155
191 | Filippo Ganna 155
192 | Giovanni Valetti | 154
193 | Daniel Martin | 154
194 | Steven Rooks | 154
195 | Eric Leman | 154
196 | Fränk Schleck | 154
197 | Rigoberto Urán | 154
198 | Marino Basso | 153
199 | André Greipel | 153
200 | Paolo Savoldelli | 152
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