Rough Attempt at an All-Time Ranking

[Pantani_lives]

Have you ever thought about adding a diversity multiplier based on the race type?

You mean for winning on different terrains? No, e.g. someone who wins Paris-Roubaix four times gets the same amount of points as someone who wins four different monuments once. I think that's fair. It would be interesting to find out who are the most "complete" or "diverse" riders, but also complicated.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Can we not come up with some sort of calculation that puts Remco on top? Or at least very higher up the board? To make him the bestest ever. (This is a joke by the way)

 

[Barkintheeye]

You mean for winning on different terrains? No, e.g. someone who wins Paris-Roubaix four times gets the same amount of points as someone who wins four different monuments once. I think that's fair. It would be interesting to find out who are the most "complete" or "diverse" riders, but also complicated.

Somebody surely said it already but your ranking is favoring GC riders and puts less weight to one day and Classics results.

Obviously there is no way of coming up with an objective and “unbiased” ranking but I would rather think that one day races are more unpredictable and harder to win than a GT. Very few of the starting riders actually have a shot at a GT victory due to the attrition and series of multiple stages plus the weight of team efforts.

One day races on the contrary have their favorites at the start but the scramble of racing (eg Alaphilippe being taken out by a MC or Pog in an early crash at LBL) will produce unexpected results. WC and Olympic wins are also a tad more unpredictable and (maybe) important.

With more emphasis (weight) on 1D/Classic/WC/OC wins (podiums) I would expect to find riders such as Boonen, Cancellara, Gilbert and Valverde much higher up when looking at the results of the last 20 years. Going further back in time - when competition was less and doping more prevalent - may not change the overall ranking that much as one and the same rider could rack up victories in both GTs as well as in 1D races.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Somebody surely said it already but your ranking is favoring GC riders and puts less weight to one day and Classics results.

With more emphasis (weight) on 1D/Classic/WC/OC wins (podiums) I would expect to find riders such as Boonen, Cancellara, Gilbert and Valverde much higher up when looking at the results of the last 20 years.

They are already pretty high, all these names are in the top 35. One-day specialists like Kelly and De Vlaeminck are in the top 10, which is higher than in comparable rankings.

 

[Berniece]

You mean for winning on different terrains? No, e.g. someone who wins Paris-Roubaix four times gets the same amount of points as someone who wins four different monuments once. I think that's fair. It would be interesting to find out who are the most "complete" or "diverse" riders, but also complicated.

Yeah that's what I meant. I'm not sure if it should matter, like you said it would create a "complete" rider ranking, but very difficult. It's already hard to properly predict if a race will end in a sprint or not, is it too hilly, or not. Might not be feasible to create something like that.

 

[Barkintheeye]

They are already pretty high, all these names are in the top 35. One-day specialists like Kelly and De Vlaeminck are in the top 10, which is higher than in comparable rankings.

Agree and I don’t want to nitpick as your ranking is just one way of looking at it but it is a little hard to think that eg Quintana should rank higher than Van der Poel etc. Should your points system be reversed with Classics being awarded 60p and GT 40p I guess things would look a lot different. Not saying that that is “better” but rather another way of viewing the same statistics. Besides no matter what it is impossible to have everyone agreeing on what view to take. Only thing sure is that Merckx is winding up as #1

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Agree and I don’t want to nitpick as your ranking is just one way of looking at it but it is a little hard to think that eg Quintana should rank higher than Van der Poel etc. Should your points system be reversed with Classics being awarded 60p and GT 40p I guess things would look a lot different. Not saying that that is “better” but rather another way of viewing the same statistics. Besides no matter what it is impossible to have everyone agreeing on what view to take. Only thing sure is that Merckx is winding up as #1

Yeah definitely has to be inherently subjective, as there is no mathematical, objective truth around relative merits of races. Different people have different views.

However, it’d be tough for me to get behind a system that would give MvDP 180 points for his 2 Monuments and WCRR and Vingegaard only 40 for his Tour de France.

 

[houtdffan]

Agree and I don’t want to nitpick as your ranking is just one way of looking at it but it is a little hard to think that eg Quintana should rank higher than Van der Poel etc. Should your points system be reversed with Classics being awarded 60p and GT 40p I guess things would look a lot different. Not saying that that is “better” but rather another way of viewing the same statistics. Besides no matter what it is impossible to have everyone agreeing on what view to take. Only thing sure is that Merckx is winding up as #1

there is no world where any 1 day race should ever be worth more than a 3 week grand tour.

One requires 1 day of intense effort. The other is over 3 weeks. 3 weeks > 1 day

 

[IndianCyclist]

I think this needs separate ranking for one day and stage races. Then the world will be alright😁

 

[Barkintheeye]

I was thinking that instead of arbitrarily admitted points, prize money could be used but I was surprised to find a large range of figures when looking at eg 1D classics, Grand Tours etc. Clearly GTs are where the big prize money is, then followed by some races such as Paris-Roubaix but for example Milano-San Remo has very small numbers for the podium so most likely teams and riders are being rewarded in other ways than prize money.

Anyone, is there a comprehensive overview of prize money for cycling races, GTs etc?

 

[KenFiamingo]

I was thinking that instead of arbitrarily admitted points, prize money could be used but I was surprised to find a large range of figures when looking at eg 1D classics, Grand Tours etc. Clearly GTs are where the big prize money is, then followed by some races such as Paris-Roubaix but for example Milano-San Remo has very small numbers for the podium so most likely teams and riders are being rewarded in other ways than prize money.

Anyone, is there a comprehensive overview of prize money for cycling races, GTs etc?

Prize money is irrelevant in professional cycling. But if you want to know the monetary value of a race, ask Vinokourov.

 

[Barkintheeye]

Of course. How could money possibly influence professional sports

Prize money is irrelevant in professional cycling. But if you want to know the monetary value of a race, ask Vinokourov

 

[Pantani_lives]

Now that the European road season is over it’s time for an update of this list.

First let’s have a look at the top 20 of 2023. In the beginning of the year there was a lot of talk about the “Big Six”, and what turns out? They are indeed the best six road racers of this year, although Van Aert needed a late win in the Coppa Bernocchi to pip top sprinter Jasper Philipsen.

1. Tadej Pogačar 162
2. Jonas Vingegaard 143
3. Primož Roglič 121
4. Mathieu van der Poel 105
5. Remco Evenepoel 101
6. Wout van Aert 51
7. Jasper Philipsen 49
8. Sepp Kuss 44
9. Filippo Ganna 36
10. Christophe Laporte 34
11. Mads Pedersen 31
12. Adam Yates 29
13. Mattias Skjelmose 27
14. Tom Pidcock 25
15. Valentin Madouas 20
16. Marc Hirschi 20
17. Kaden Groves 20
18. Alexey Lutsenko 18
19. João Almeida 15
20. Josh Tarling 13

It’s truly exceptional that five riders have scored over 100 points. In a normal year only one or two riders score that high; sometimes none. Pogačar ultimately claimed the victory by winning Il Lombardia. He’s the only rider with a high score in both one-day races and stage races.

 

[Extinction]

Somebody surely said it already but your ranking is favoring GC riders and puts less weight to one day and Classics results.

Obviously there is no way of coming up with an objective and “unbiased” ranking but I would rather think that one day races are more unpredictable and harder to win than a GT. Very few of the starting riders actually have a shot at a GT victory due to the attrition and series of multiple stages plus the weight of team efforts.

One day races on the contrary have their favorites at the start but the scramble of racing (eg Alaphilippe being taken out by a MC or Pog in an early crash at LBL) will produce unexpected results. WC and Olympic wins are also a tad more unpredictable and (maybe) important.

With more emphasis (weight) on 1D/Classic/WC/OC wins (podiums) I would expect to find riders such as Boonen, Cancellara, Gilbert and Valverde much higher up when looking at the results of the last 20 years. Going further back in time - when competition was less and doping more prevalent - may not change the overall ranking that much as one and the same rider could rack up victories in both GTs as well as in 1D races.

One-day races are not "harder" to win, but more "difficult" yes, because you only get one shot. Physically the GTs are harder, with the high mountains, TTs and the sheer endurance factor over three weeks, which is why they rank higher. If we cannot agree on this, then their is no point in continuing the discussion.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Before we go to the new top 200 of all time a few more remarks are needed about the point system. After discussions with the forum I’ve made a few adjustments earlier this year: the Tour went from 50 to 60 points, and a few smaller races and places of honor were downgraded a little. In the new update the world title and Olympic title ITT go from 25 to 20 points, which means that some of the time trial specialists lose a few places. The system is explained in the OP.

Now let’s see what all this does to the all-time ranking. The first Tour winner Maurice Garin happens to be at #200. Thibaut Pinot finishes his career just outside of the top 200.

All members of the Big Six are now in the top 100:
*Jonas Vingegaard storms from outside the top 200 to inside the top 100 and becomes the highest Dane.
*Mathieu van der Poel jumps over his father, but is still behind his grandfather.
*Wout van Aert keeps gaining places, although he’s surpassed by a younger compatriot.
*At the age of twenty-three Remco Evenepoel is already the highest ranked active Belgian.
*Primož Roglič now has a slightly bigger trophy cabinet than Nibali, but he’s no longer the highest Slovenian.
*Tadej Pogačar, the youngest rider in the top 50, is on the verge of breaking the top 20.

So here is the new top 200. Between brackets is the adjusted ranking of one year ago. Riders who were still active on the road in 2023 are in bold.

(1) 1 Eddy Merckx 2027
(2) 2 Bernard Hinault 1266
(3) 3 Jacques Anquetil 1075
(4) 4 Fausto Coppi 1032
(5) 5 Gino Bartali 1009
(6) 6 Sean Kelly 958
(7) 7 Alejandro Valverde 921
(8) 8 Roger De Vlaeminck 873
(9) 9 Francesco Moser 830
(10) 10 Alfredo Binda 789
(11) 11 Felice Gimondi 778
(12) 12 Miguel Induráin 763
(13) 13 Rik Van Looy 688
(14) 14 Costante Girardengo 675
(15) 15 Joop Zoetemelk 657
(16) 16 Chris Froome 656
(17) 17 Fabian Cancellara 637
(18) 18 Louison Bobet 621
(19) 19 Alberto Contador 619
(20) 20 Laurent Jalabert 619
(33) 21 Tadej Pogačar 614
(21) 22 Tony Rominger 600
(22) 23 Giuseppe Saronni 599
(28) 24 Primož Roglič 599
(23) 25 Vincenzo Nibali 594
(24) 26 Freddy Maertens 594
(25) 27 Tom Boonen 523
(26) 28 Peter Sagan 520
(27) 29 Rik Van Steenbergen 484
(29) 30 Fiorenzo Magni 475
(30) 31 Learco Guerra 474
(31) 32 Ferdi Kübler 473
(32) 33 Philippe Gilbert 454
(34) 34 Franco Bitossi 452
(35) 35 Johan Museeuw 446
(36) 36 Erik Zabel 442
(37) 37 Luis Ocaña 441
(38) 38 Mario Cipollini 436
(39) 39 Paolo Bettini 432
(40) 40 Greg LeMond 429
(41) 41 Raymond Poulidor 425
(42) 42 Jan Ullrich 423
(43) 43 Gianni Bugno 423
(44) 44 Laurent Fignon 418
(45) 45 Jan Raas 416
(46) 46 Mark Cavendish 415
(47) 47 Moreno Argentin 409
(48) 48 Nairo Quintana 388
(49) 49 Nicolas Frantz 385
(50) 50 Alex Zülle 378
(51) 51 Joaquim Rodríguez 377
(52) 52 Herman Vanspringel 369
(53) 53 Oscar Freire 359
(54) 54 Alexander Vinokourov 356
(55) 55 Charly Gaul 348
(56) 56 Hugo Koblet 339
(57) 57 Walter Godefroot 336
(58) 58 Michele Bartoli 335
(59) 59 Gaetano Belloni 334
(60) 60 Jan Janssen 332
(61) 61 Henri Pélissier 332
(62) 62 Antonin Magne 331
(108) 63 Remco Evenepoel 331
(81) 64 Wout van Aert 329
(63) 65 Charly Mottet 324
(64) 66 André Leducq 323
(65) 67 Stephen Roche 322
(66) 68 Pedro Delgado 322
(67) 69 Giovanni Brunero 322
(68) 70 Bernard Thévenet 317
(69) 71 Claudio Chiappucci 317
(70) 72 Cadel Evans 309
(71) 73 François Faber 307
(73) 74 Julian Alaphilippe 307
(72) 75 Philippe Thys 305
(74) 76 Vittorio Adorni 303
(75) 77 Abraham Olano 303
(76) 78 Rudi Altig 303
(77) 79 Alessandro Petacchi 300
(78) 80 Hennie Kuiper 296
(79) 81 Roberto Heras 289
(80) 82 Gustave Garrigou 284
(82) 83 Davide Rebellin 276
(83) 84 Briek Schotte 275
(165) 85 Mathieu van der Poel 274
(84) 86 Gianbattista Baronchelli 273
(85) 87 Bradley Wiggins 269
(86) 88 Fred De Bruyne 265
(87) 89 Gianni Motta 264
(88) 90 André Darrigade 263
(89) 91 Nino Defilippis 262
(90) 92 Lucien Van Impe 261
(91) 93 Gilberto Simoni 258
(92) 94 Phil Anderson 255
(93) 95 Federico Bahamontes 254
(94) 96 Marino Lejarreta 253
(95) 97 Damiano Cunego 252
(///) 98 Jonas Vingegaard 250
(96) 99 Stan Ockers 249
(97) 100 Tony Martin 246
(98) 101 Julián Berrendero 242
(99) 102 Eric Vanderaerden 242
(100) 103 Marco Pantani 241
(107) 104 Michał Kwiatkowski 240
(101) 105 Michel Pollentier 239
(117) 106 Geraint Thomas 238
(102) 107 Samuel Sánchez 237
(103) 108 Rolf Sørensen 236
(104) 109 Danilo Di Luca 234
(105) 110 Francesco Casagrande 234
(106) 111 Jean Stablinski 232
(109) 112 Ivan Basso 230
(110) 113 Pascal Richard 227
(111) 114 Delio Rodríguez 226
(112) 115 Raymond Impanis 224
(113) 116 Greg Van Avermaet 222
(114) 117 Sylvère Maes 221
(115) 118 Lucien Petit-Breton 218
(116) 119 Gastone Nencini 218
(118) 120 Dietrich Thurau 218
(119) 121 Alexander Kristoff 216
(120) 122 Octave Lapize 210
(121) 123 Marcel Kint 210
(122) 124 Tom Dumoulin 208
(123) 125 Gerrie Knetemann 208
(130) 126 Arnaud Démare 207
(124) 127 Thor Hushovd 206
(125) 128 Carlos Sastre 205
(126) 129 Robbie McEwen 204
(132) 130 Richard Carapaz 204
(127) 131 Denis Menchov 203
(128) 132 Stefano Garzelli 202
(129) 133 Adrie van der Poel 202
(131) 134 Claude Criquielion 200
(133) 135 Luis Herrera 198
(134) 136 Miguel María Lasa 198
(135) 137 Michele Dancelli 197
(136) 138 Pavel Tonkov 196
(137) 139 Ottavio Bottecchia 195
(138) 140 Giovanni Battaglin 195
(139) 141 Eddy Planckaert 195
(140) 142 Giuseppe Olmo 194
(141) 143 Richard Virenque 193
(142) 144 Georges Ronsse 192
(143) 145 Miguel Poblet 192
(144) 146 José Manuel Fuente 189
(145) 147 Jean Alavoine 189
(146) 148 Guido Bontempi 187
(147) 149 Georges Speicher 186
(148) 150 Heiri Suter 185
(149) 151 Maurizio Fondriest 182
(150) 152 Andy Schleck 181
(151) 153 Andrei Tchmil 181
(152) 154 Frans Verbeeck 181
(153) 155 Mariano Cañardo 180
(154) 156 Egan Bernal 177
(155) 157 Peter Van Petegem 174
(156) 158 Adolfo Leoni 174
(157) 159 Carlo Galetti 172
(158) 160 John Degenkolb 172
(159) 161 Joaquim Agostinho 172
(160) 162 Maurice De Waele 171
(161) 163 Ercole Baldini 171
(162) 164 Jakob Fuglsang 170
(163) 165 Luigi Ganna 170
(164) 166 Italo Zilioli 170
(166) 167 Louis Trousselier 168
(167) 168 Germain Derycke 168
(168) 169 Frank Vandenbroucke 168
(169) 170 Erik Breukink 168
(170) 171 Andreas Klöden 167
(171) 172 Rui Costa 166
(172) 173 Pasquale Fornara 166
(173) 174 Roger Pingeon 164
(174) 175 Roger Lapébie 164
(175) 176 Franco Balmamion 164
(176) 177 Tom Simpson 163
(185) 178 Simon Yates 163
(177) 179 Jef Planckaert 163
(178) 180 Tom Steels 161
(179) 181 Firmin Lambot 160
(180) 182 Gaston Rebry 159
(181) 183 Domingo Perurena 158
(182) 184 Laurent Dufaux 157
(183) 185 Robert Millar 156
(184) 186 Ritchie Porte 156
(186) 187 Andrew Hampsten 155
(187) 188 Andrea Tafi 155
(188) 189 Giovanni Valetti 154
(189) 190 Daniel Martin 154
(190) 191 Steven Rooks 154
(191) 192 Eric Leman 154
(192) 193 Fränk Schleck 154
(193) 194 Rigoberto Urán 154
(194) 195 Marino Basso 153
(195) 196 André Greipel 153
(196) 197 Paolo Savoldelli 152
(197) 198 Edvald Boasson Hagen 152
(198) 199 Bjarne Riis 151
(199) 200 Maurice Garin 150

The saga is to be continued next year...

 

[Barkintheeye]

Before we go to the new top 200 of all time a few more remarks are needed about the point system. After discussions with the forum I’ve made a few adjustments earlier this year: the Tour went from 50 to 60 points, and a few smaller races and places of honor were downgraded a little. In the new update the world title and Olympic title ITT go from 25 to 20 points, which means that some of the time trial specialists lose a few places. The system is explained in the OP.

Now let’s see what all this does to the all-time ranking. The first Tour winner Maurice Garin happens to be at #200. Thibaut Pinot finishes his career just outside of the top 200.

All members of the Big Six are now in the top 100:
*Jonas Vingegaard storms from outside the top 200 to inside the top 100 and becomes the highest Dane.
*Mathieu van der Poel jumps over his father, but is still behind his father-in-law.
*Wout van Aert keeps gaining places, although he’s surpassed by a younger compatriot.
*At the age of twenty-three Remco Evenepoel is already the highest ranked active Belgian.
*Primož Roglič now has a slightly bigger trophy cabinet than Nibali, but he’s no longer the highest Slovenian.
*Tadej Pogačar, the youngest rider in the top 50, is on the verge of breaking the top 20.

So here is the new top 200. Between brackets is the adjusted ranking of one year ago. Riders who were still active on the road in 2023 are in bold.

(1) 1 Eddy Merckx 2027
(2) 2 Bernard Hinault 1266
(3) 3 Jacques Anquetil 1075
(4) 4 Fausto Coppi 1032
(5) 5 Gino Bartali 1009
(6) 6 Sean Kelly 958
(7) 7 Alejandro Valverde 921
(8) 8 Roger De Vlaeminck 873
(9) 9 Francesco Moser 830
(10) 10 Alfredo Binda 789
(11) 11 Felice Gimondi 778
(12) 12 Miguel Induráin 763
(13) 13 Rik Van Looy 688
(14) 14 Costante Girardengo 675
(15) 15 Joop Zoetemelk 657
(16) 16 Chris Froome 656
(17) 17 Fabian Cancellara 637
(18) 18 Louison Bobet 621
(19) 19 Alberto Contador 619
(20) 20 Laurent Jalabert 619
(33) 21 Tadej Pogačar 614
(21) 22 Tony Rominger 600
(22) 23 Giuseppe Saronni 599
(28) 24 Primož Roglič 599
(23) 25 Vincenzo Nibali 594
(24) 26 Freddy Maertens 594
(25) 27 Tom Boonen 523
(26) 28 Peter Sagan 520
(27) 29 Rik Van Steenbergen 484
(29) 30 Fiorenzo Magni 475
(30) 31 Learco Guerra 474
(31) 32 Ferdi Kübler 473
(32) 33 Philippe Gilbert 454
(34) 34 Franco Bitossi 452
(35) 35 Johan Museeuw 446
(36) 36 Erik Zabel 442
(37) 37 Luis Ocaña 441
(38) 38 Mario Cipollini 436
(39) 39 Paolo Bettini 432
(40) 40 Greg LeMond 429
(41) 41 Raymond Poulidor 425
(42) 42 Jan Ullrich 423
(43) 43 Gianni Bugno 423
(44) 44 Laurent Fignon 418
(45) 45 Jan Raas 416
(46) 46 Mark Cavendish 415
(47) 47 Moreno Argentin 409
(48) 48 Nairo Quintana 388
(49) 49 Nicolas Frantz 385
(50) 50 Alex Zülle 378
(51) 51 Joaquim Rodríguez 377
(52) 52 Herman Vanspringel 369
(53) 53 Oscar Freire 359
(54) 54 Alexander Vinokourov 356
(55) 55 Charly Gaul 348
(56) 56 Hugo Koblet 339
(57) 57 Walter Godefroot 336
(58) 58 Michele Bartoli 335
(59) 59 Gaetano Belloni 334
(60) 60 Jan Janssen 332
(61) 61 Henri Pélissier 332
(62) 62 Antonin Magne 331
(108) 63 Remco Evenepoel 331
(81) 64 Wout van Aert 329
(63) 65 Charly Mottet 324
(64) 66 André Leducq 323
(65) 67 Stephen Roche 322
(66) 68 Pedro Delgado 322
(67) 69 Giovanni Brunero 322
(68) 70 Bernard Thévenet 317
(69) 71 Claudio Chiappucci 317
(70) 72 Cadel Evans 309
(71) 73 François Faber 307
(73) 74 Julian Alaphilippe 307
(72) 75 Philippe Thys 305
(74) 76 Vittorio Adorni 303
(75) 77 Abraham Olano 303
(76) 78 Rudi Altig 303
(77) 79 Alessandro Petacchi 300
(78) 80 Hennie Kuiper 296
(79) 81 Roberto Heras 289
(80) 82 Gustave Garrigou 284
(82) 83 Davide Rebellin 276
(83) 84 Briek Schotte 275
(165) 85 Mathieu van der Poel 274
(84) 86 Gianbattista Baronchelli 273
(85) 87 Bradley Wiggins 269
(86) 88 Fred De Bruyne 265
(87) 89 Gianni Motta 264
(88) 90 André Darrigade 263
(89) 91 Nino Defilippis 262
(90) 92 Lucien Van Impe 261
(91) 93 Gilberto Simoni 258
(92) 94 Phil Anderson 255
(93) 95 Federico Bahamontes 254
(94) 96 Marino Lejarreta 253
(95) 97 Damiano Cunego 252
(///) 98 Jonas Vingegaard 250
(96) 99 Stan Ockers 249
(97) 100 Tony Martin 246
(98) 101 Julián Berrendero 242
(99) 102 Eric Vanderaerden 242
(100) 103 Marco Pantani 241
(107) 104 Michał Kwiatkowski 240
(101) 105 Michel Pollentier 239
(117) 106 Geraint Thomas 238
(102) 107 Samuel Sánchez 237
(103) 108 Rolf Sørensen 236
(104) 109 Danilo Di Luca 234
(105) 110 Francesco Casagrande 234
(106) 111 Jean Stablinski 232
(109) 112 Ivan Basso 230
(110) 113 Pascal Richard 227
(111) 114 Delio Rodríguez 226
(112) 115 Raymond Impanis 224
(113) 116 Greg Van Avermaet 222
(114) 117 Sylvère Maes 221
(115) 118 Lucien Petit-Breton 218
(116) 119 Gastone Nencini 218
(118) 120 Dietrich Thurau 218
(119) 121 Alexander Kristoff 216
(120) 122 Octave Lapize 210
(121) 123 Marcel Kint 210
(122) 124 Tom Dumoulin 208
(123) 125 Gerrie Knetemann 208
(130) 126 Arnaud Démare 207
(124) 127 Thor Hushovd 206
(125) 128 Carlos Sastre 205
(126) 129 Robbie McEwen 204
(132) 130 Richard Carapaz 204
(127) 131 Denis Menchov 203
(128) 132 Stefano Garzelli 202
(129) 133 Adrie van der Poel 202
(131) 134 Claude Criquielion 200
(133) 135 Luis Herrera 198
(134) 136 Miguel María Lasa 198
(135) 137 Michele Dancelli 197
(136) 138 Pavel Tonkov 196
(137) 139 Ottavio Bottecchia 195
(138) 140 Giovanni Battaglin 195
(139) 141 Eddy Planckaert 195
(140) 142 Giuseppe Olmo 194
(141) 143 Richard Virenque 193
(142) 144 Georges Ronsse 192
(143) 145 Miguel Poblet 192
(144) 146 José Manuel Fuente 189
(145) 147 Jean Alavoine 189
(146) 148 Guido Bontempi 187
(147) 149 Georges Speicher 186
(148) 150 Heiri Suter 185
(149) 151 Maurizio Fondriest 182
(150) 152 Andy Schleck 181
(151) 153 Andrei Tchmil 181
(152) 154 Frans Verbeeck 181
(153) 155 Mariano Cañardo 180
(154) 156 Egan Bernal 177
(155) 157 Peter Van Petegem 174
(156) 158 Adolfo Leoni 174
(157) 159 Carlo Galetti 172
(158) 160 John Degenkolb 172
(159) 161 Joaquim Agostinho 172
(160) 162 Maurice De Waele 171
(161) 163 Ercole Baldini 171
(162) 164 Jakob Fuglsang 170
(163) 165 Luigi Ganna 170
(164) 166 Italo Zilioli 170
(166) 167 Louis Trousselier 168
(167) 168 Germain Derycke 168
(168) 169 Frank Vandenbroucke 168
(169) 170 Erik Breukink 168
(170) 171 Andreas Klöden 167
(171) 172 Rui Costa 166
(172) 173 Pasquale Fornara 166
(173) 174 Roger Pingeon 164
(174) 175 Roger Lapébie 164
(175) 176 Franco Balmamion 164
(176) 177 Tom Simpson 163
(185) 178 Simon Yates 163
(177) 179 Jef Planckaert 163
(178) 180 Tom Steels 161
(179) 181 Firmin Lambot 160
(180) 182 Gaston Rebry 159
(181) 183 Domingo Perurena 158
(182) 184 Laurent Dufaux 157
(183) 185 Robert Millar 156
(184) 186 Ritchie Porte 156
(186) 187 Andrew Hampsten 155
(187) 188 Andrea Tafi 155
(188) 189 Giovanni Valetti 154
(189) 190 Daniel Martin 154
(190) 191 Steven Rooks 154
(191) 192 Eric Leman 154
(192) 193 Fränk Schleck 154
(193) 194 Rigoberto Urán 154
(194) 195 Marino Basso 153
(195) 196 André Greipel 153
(196) 197 Paolo Savoldelli 152
(197) 198 Edvald Boasson Hagen 152
(198) 199 Bjarne Riis 151
(199) 200 Maurice Garin 150

The saga is to be continued next year...

Now you just have to add gravel-races and memorable post-races interviews. I want Matej Mohoric at least among the top 25!!!

 

[Berniece]

The saga is to be continued next year...

Amazing work! Any chance I could borrow your script to get all the information and calculate everything? I'm interested to expand it by calculating riders cumulative points by age. For example, to see how young guys like Pogacar/Evenepoel compare to all-time greats at their age. Could show a possible growth trajectory. I'll share it once it's finished.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Amazing work! Any chance I could borrow your script to get all the information and calculate everything? I'm interested to expand it by calculating riders cumulative points by age. For example, to see how young guys like Pogacar/Evenepoel compare to all-time greats at their age. Could show a possible growth trajectory. I'll share it once it's finished.

Interesting idea, but I haven't kept the scores by year. Pogacar is on schedule to crack the top 10 in two years, but he can also have bad years with crashes etc. Merckx is the only one who was clearly ahead of him in at the age of twenty-five, with 4 GTs, 7 monuments and a world title. Hinault had 3 GTs, but only 2 monuments.

Evenepoel has fewer points than Pogacar at the same age. They've both won two monuments before turning twenty-four, but Pogacar already had two Tour wins vs. one Vuelta.

 

[red_flanders]

*Mathieu van der Poel jumps over his father, but is still behind his father-in-law.

Hey this is incredible, really. Thanks for putting this together. Very cool read.

Just a question, is this meant to be his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor?

 

[Berniece]

Just a question, is this meant to be his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor?

Yes, which is the father in law of Adri VDP

 

[Pantani_lives]

Hey this is incredible, really. Thanks for putting this together. Very cool read.

Just a question, is this meant to be his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor?

Yes, of course that's what I meant. I'll correct it.

 

[red_flanders]

Yes, which is the father in law of Adri VDP

Ah, ok gotcha now.

Yes, of course that's what I meant. I'll correct it.

No worries, and thanks again, this is a very cool effort. Always a million ways to slice it and you'll never satisfy everyone, but great first take and great job taking in the feedback!

 

[Berniece]

Interesting idea, but I haven't kept the scores by year. Pogacar is on schedule to crack the top 10 in two years, but he can also have bad years with crashes etc. Merckx is the only one who was clearly ahead of him in at the age of twenty-five, with 4 GTs, 7 monuments and a world title. Hinault had 3 GTs, but only 2 monuments.

Evenepoel has fewer points than Pogacar at the same age. They've both won two monuments before turning twenty-four, but Pogacar already had two Tour wins vs. one Vuelta.

Oh ok, you calculated it manually. I can imagine Evenepoel/Pogacar being ahead of Merckx in the early 20's, but definitely not anymore at 25, and it's only going to get worse.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Here's another overview that might interest people. It shows the best road cyclist of the year since 1946 according to this point system. When there's a close second or third (less than ten points behind) I mention him between brackets. When the original winner was disqualified I also mention him between brackets.

Spoiler: Best Road Cyclist 1946 - 2023

1946 Coppi
1947 Coppi
1948 Bartali
1949 Coppi
1950 Koblet [Kübler]
1951 Magni [Kübler]
1952 Coppi
1953 Coppi
1954 Bobet
1955 Bobet
1956 De Bruyne
1957 Anquetil
1958 Baldini
1959 Van Looy
1960 Nencini
1961 Anquetil
1962 Planckaert [Altig, Van Looy]
1963 Anquetil
1964 Anquetil
1965 Anquetil
1966 Anquetil
1967 Merckx
1968 Merckx
1969 Merckx
1970 Merckx
1971 Merckx
1972 Merckx
1973 Merckx
1974 Merckx
1975 Merckx
1976 Maertens
1977 Maertens
1978 Hinault
1979 Hinault
1980 Hinault
1981 Hinault
1982 Hinault [Saronni]
1983 Saronni [Kelly]
1984 Kelly
1985 Hinault
1986 Kelly
1987 Roche
1988 Kelly
1989 Fignon [LeMond]
1990 Bugno
1991 Induráin [Bugno]
1992 Induráin
1993 Rominger [Induráin]
1994 Rominger
1995 Jalabert
1996 Zülle [Museeuw]
1997 Jalabert
1998 Pantani
1999 [Armstrong] Ullrich
2000 [Armstrong] Ullrich
2001 [Armstrong] Zabel
2002 Cipollini
2003 [Armstrong] Simoni
2004 Cunego
2005 Boonen
2006 Bettini
2007 Contador
2008 Cancellara [Contador]
2009 Contador
2010 Cancellara
2011 Gilbert
2012 Wiggins
2013 Froome
2014 Valverde [Contador, Nibali]
2015 Froome
2016 Froome [Sagan]
2017 Froome
2018 Thomas
2019 Roglič [Bernal]
2020 Roglič
2021 Pogačar
2022 Evenepoel
2023 Pogačar

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Holly, molly, Teddy is going up fast! He could even end up 2nd of all time (almost halfway right now), the modern Merckx.