Rough Attempt at an All-Time Ranking

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I guess in the debate between Valverde and Contador it depends on what you rate more versatility or specialism. For me Contador was more dominant in GTs than Valverde was in classics at their peak but Valverde was clearly more versatile, could win a far broader range of races and in fact did so over a longer period of time.

I am not a huge fan of comparing cross generations particularly Eddie v Pog. Times were so different, different races had different levels of importance, everybody raced loads, super teams weren't much of a thing and cycling has become far more global and specialised so there is more depth in competition.

Times change- people can spin arguments whichever way you suit and people will always have their favourites.

All I can judge is what I've seen since watching the sport. Since 1994 Pog is clearly all round the most dominant rider in that time although when people complain about team dominance by UAE I still remember the Gewiss dominance of the 1995 liege and Mapei's dominance of Roubaix 1996...
 
I'm as big a Valverde fanboy as they come, but even I have to admit that Contador was the greater and more mythical cyclist. For me Contador is easily the greatest cyclist of the 21st century pre-Pog (with only Armstrong as a possible discussion). And with 9 GTs for Contador, I don't even think Pog is head-and-shoulders ahead yet in terms of palmares.

All I can judge is what I've seen since watching the sport. Since 1994 Pog is clearly all round the most dominant rider in that time although when people complain about team dominance by UAE I still remember the Gewiss dominance of the 1995 liege and Mapei's dominance of Roubaix 1996...
In terms of dominance in one particular race, I think Jumbo-Visma's 2023 Vuelta beats the Gewiss and Mapei monuments hands down. At least those races were over after a few hours, and we didn't have to watch a team playing on easy mode for three weeks.
 
2015, he won LBL, Fleche and NC, podium on AGR (2nd), Strade (3rd), San Sebastian (3rd), and 4th Lombardia and 5th WC.

Maybe also even in 2014.
Yeah, great year, but nothing compared to Contador winning Giro-Vuelta in 2008, clearly head and shoulders above anyone else in GTs, becoming all the sixth person to ever win all 3 GTs, or beating his own teammate/team, against his DS’s wishes, for his second Tour, or being the third person to win all 3 GTs more than once. He also won the Velo d’Or 4 times. He burned much brighter and faster than Valverde.

Valverde was definitely more versatile and his longevity was insane, but I put Contador above him for the reasons listed. Also, yes, Valverde won 4 Monuments, but they were all the same Monument, and not the most prestigious. (Plus a WCRR, which is more prestigious). Again, very good, but below Contador’s 3-3-3 across GTs. 9 big wins vs 6. 7 vs 6 if you go by the books.

Regardless, Pogacar is miles above them both.
 
After LBL it's time for an update. So what does this spring mean for this all-time ranking?

  • Tadej Pogačar had an incredible spring campaign, scoring exactly 100 points. He jumps over Sean Kelly and Alejandro Valverde, which makes him undeniably the BROCC (Best Rider of Current Century). As the sixth rider ever to break the barrier of 1000 points he joins the pantheon of cycling gods.
  • Mathieu van der Poel is the other stand-out. He enters the top 50 of road cycling, in spite of combining that with other disciplines. He still hasn't caught fellow Dutchman Jan Raas and grandpa Poupou, but he's getting close.
  • Mads Pedersen makes the biggest leap by gaining thirty-six places.

Here's an overview of the biggest changes in position compared to December:

(8) 6. Tadej Pogačar
(58) 48. Mathieu van der Poel
(158) 122. Mads Pedersen
(192) 174. Filippo Ganna

And hidden behind spoiler tags is an overview of the updated list:

1 | Eddy Merckx | 2027
2 | Bernard Hinault | 1266
3 | Jacques Anquetil | 1075
4 | Fausto Coppi | 1032
5 | Gino Bartali | 1009
6 | Tadej Pogačar | 1007
7 | Sean Kelly | 958
8 | Alejandro Valverde | 921
9 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 873
10 | Francesco Moser | 830
11 | Alfredo Binda | 789
12 | Felice Gimondi | 778
13 | Costante Girardengo | 765
14 | Miguel Induráin | 740
15 | Rik Van Looy | 733
16 | Primož Roglič | 695
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 | Remco Evenepoel | 450
36 | Johan Museeuw | 446
37 | Erik Zabel | 442
38 | Luis Ocaña | 441
39 | Mario Cipollini | 436
40 | Paolo Bettini | 432
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 | Mathieu van der Poel | 412
49 | Moreno Argentin | 409
50 | Nairo Quintana | 388
51 | Nicolas Frantz | 385
52 | Alex Zülle | 378
53 | Joaquim Rodríguez | 377
54 | Herman Vanspringel | 369
55 | Oscar Freire | 359
56 | Alexander Vinokourov | 356
57 | Wout van Aert | 351
58 | Charly Gaul | 348
59 | Hugo Koblet | 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 | Jonas Vingegaard | 314
74 | Julian Alaphilippe | 311

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 | Michał Kwiatkowski | 245

103 | Julián Berrendero | 242
104 | Eric Vanderaerden | 242
105 | Marco Pantani | 241
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 | Mads Pedersen | 213

123 | Ivan Basso | 211
124 | Octave Lapize | 210
125 | Marcel Kint | 210
126 | Tom Dumoulin | 208
127 | Gerrie Knetemann | 208
128 | Arnaud Démare | 207
129 | Thor Hushovd | 206
130 | Carlos Sastre | 205
131 | Robbie McEwen | 204
132 | Denis Menchov | 203
133 | Stefano Garzelli | 202
134 | Adrie van der Poel | 202
135 | Claude Criquielion | 200
136 | Luis Herrera | 198
137 | Miguel María Lasa | 198
138 | Michele Dancelli | 197
139 | Pavel Tonkov | 196
140 | Ottavio Bottecchia | 195
141 | Giovanni Battaglin | 195
142 | Eddy Planckaert | 195
143 | Giuseppe Olmo | 194
144 | Richard Virenque | 193
145 | Georges Ronsse | 192
146 | Miguel Poblet | 192
147 | José Manuel Fuente | 189
148 | Jean Alavoine | 189
149 | Guido Bontempi | 187
150 | Georges Speicher | 186
151 | Egan Bernal | 185
152 | Heiri Suter | 185
153 | Maurizio Fondriest | 182
154 | Andy Schleck | 181
155 | Andrei Tchmil | 181
156 | Frans Verbeeck | 181
157 | Mariano Cañardo | 180
158 | Filippo Pozzato | 176
159 | Peter Van Petegem | 174
160 | Adolfo Leoni | 174
161 | Carlo Galetti | 172
162 | John Degenkolb | 172
163 | Joaquim Agostinho | 172
164 | Rui Costa | 171
165 | Maurice De Waele | 171
166 | Ercole Baldini | 171
167 | Jakob Fuglsang | 170
168 | Luigi Ganna | 170
169 | Italo Zilioli | 170
170 | Louis Trousselier | 168
171 | Germain Derycke | 168
172 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 168
173 | Erik Breukink | 168
174 | Filippo Ganna | 167
175 | Andreas Klöden | 167
176 | Pasquale Fornara | 166
177 | Roger Pingeon | 164
178 | Roger Lapébie | 164
179 | Alphonse Schepers | 164
180 | Franco Balmamion | 164
181 | Simon Yates | 163
182 | Tom Simpson | 163
183 | Jef Planckaert | 163
184 | Tom Steels | 161
185 | Firmin Lambot | 160
186 | Gaston Rebry | 159
187 | Domingo Perurena | 158
188 | Laurent Dufaux | 157
189 | Robert Millar | 156
190 | Ritchie Porte | 156
191 | Andrew Hampsten | 155
192 | Andrea Tafi | 155
193 | Giovanni Valetti | 154
194 | Daniel Martin | 154
195 | Steven Rooks | 154
196 | Eric Leman | 154
197 | Fränk Schleck | 154
198 | Rigoberto Urán | 154
199 | Marino Basso | 153
200 | André Greipel | 153
 
So Pogi is very likely to be 3rd at the end of the year and dependent on schedule could well be 2nd by this point next year.

Catching Merckx is now looking possible though would still take a phenomenal level of dominance for another 5-7 years.
Yeah, essentially If the next 6 years go how his first six years went he's there. But I think he's actually very likely to be better than that considering the level he's showed over the last one and a half years. If he continues to dominate like that he'll get there shockingly fast. I don't think it's gonna go that way without any setbacks but I definitely think we're past the point where him catching Merckx is more likely than not.
 
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After LBL it's time for an update. So what does this spring mean for this all-time ranking?

  • Tadej Pogačar had an incredible spring campaign, scoring exactly 100 points. He jumps over Sean Kelly and Alejandro Valverde, which makes him undeniably the BROCC (Best Rider of Current Century). As the sixth rider ever to break the barrier of 1000 points he joins the pantheon of cycling gods.
  • Mathieu van der Poel is the other stand-out. He enters the top 50 of road cycling, in spite of combining that with other disciplines. He still hasn't caught fellow Dutchman Jan Raas and grandpa Poupou, but he's getting close.
  • Mads Pedersen makes the biggest leap by gaining thirty-six places.

Here's an overview of the biggest changes in position compared to December:

(8) 6. Tadej Pogačar
(58) 48. Mathieu van der Poel
(158) 122. Mads Pedersen
(192) 174. Filippo Ganna

And hidden behind spoiler tags is an overview of the updated list:

1 | Eddy Merckx | 2027
2 | Bernard Hinault | 1266
3 | Jacques Anquetil | 1075
4 | Fausto Coppi | 1032
5 | Gino Bartali | 1009
6 | Tadej Pogačar | 1007
7 | Sean Kelly | 958
8 | Alejandro Valverde | 921
9 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 873
10 | Francesco Moser | 830
11 | Alfredo Binda | 789
12 | Felice Gimondi | 778
13 | Costante Girardengo | 765
14 | Miguel Induráin | 740
15 | Rik Van Looy | 733
16 | Primož Roglič | 695
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 | Remco Evenepoel | 450
36 | Johan Museeuw | 446
37 | Erik Zabel | 442
38 | Luis Ocaña | 441
39 | Mario Cipollini | 436
40 | Paolo Bettini | 432
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 | Mathieu van der Poel | 412
49 | Moreno Argentin | 409
50 | Nairo Quintana | 388
51 | Nicolas Frantz | 385
52 | Alex Zülle | 378
53 | Joaquim Rodríguez | 377
54 | Herman Vanspringel | 369
55 | Oscar Freire | 359
56 | Alexander Vinokourov | 356
57 | Wout van Aert | 351
58 | Charly Gaul | 348
59 | Hugo Koblet | 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 | Jonas Vingegaard | 314
74 | Julian Alaphilippe | 311

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 | Michał Kwiatkowski | 245

103 | Julián Berrendero | 242
104 | Eric Vanderaerden | 242
105 | Marco Pantani | 241
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 | Mads Pedersen | 213

123 | Ivan Basso | 211
124 | Octave Lapize | 210
125 | Marcel Kint | 210
126 | Tom Dumoulin | 208
127 | Gerrie Knetemann | 208
128 | Arnaud Démare | 207
129 | Thor Hushovd | 206
130 | Carlos Sastre | 205
131 | Robbie McEwen | 204
132 | Denis Menchov | 203
133 | Stefano Garzelli | 202
134 | Adrie van der Poel | 202
135 | Claude Criquielion | 200
136 | Luis Herrera | 198
137 | Miguel María Lasa | 198
138 | Michele Dancelli | 197
139 | Pavel Tonkov | 196
140 | Ottavio Bottecchia | 195
141 | Giovanni Battaglin | 195
142 | Eddy Planckaert | 195
143 | Giuseppe Olmo | 194
144 | Richard Virenque | 193
145 | Georges Ronsse | 192
146 | Miguel Poblet | 192
147 | José Manuel Fuente | 189
148 | Jean Alavoine | 189
149 | Guido Bontempi | 187
150 | Georges Speicher | 186
151 | Egan Bernal | 185
152 | Heiri Suter | 185
153 | Maurizio Fondriest | 182
154 | Andy Schleck | 181
155 | Andrei Tchmil | 181
156 | Frans Verbeeck | 181
157 | Mariano Cañardo | 180
158 | Filippo Pozzato | 176
159 | Peter Van Petegem | 174
160 | Adolfo Leoni | 174
161 | Carlo Galetti | 172
162 | John Degenkolb | 172
163 | Joaquim Agostinho | 172
164 | Rui Costa | 171
165 | Maurice De Waele | 171
166 | Ercole Baldini | 171
167 | Jakob Fuglsang | 170
168 | Luigi Ganna | 170
169 | Italo Zilioli | 170
170 | Louis Trousselier | 168
171 | Germain Derycke | 168
172 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 168
173 | Erik Breukink | 168
174 | Filippo Ganna | 167
175 | Andreas Klöden | 167
176 | Pasquale Fornara | 166
177 | Roger Pingeon | 164
178 | Roger Lapébie | 164
179 | Alphonse Schepers | 164
180 | Franco Balmamion | 164
181 | Simon Yates | 163
182 | Tom Simpson | 163
183 | Jef Planckaert | 163
184 | Tom Steels | 161
185 | Firmin Lambot | 160
186 | Gaston Rebry | 159
187 | Domingo Perurena | 158
188 | Laurent Dufaux | 157
189 | Robert Millar | 156
190 | Ritchie Porte | 156
191 | Andrew Hampsten | 155
192 | Andrea Tafi | 155
193 | Giovanni Valetti | 154
194 | Daniel Martin | 154
195 | Steven Rooks | 154
196 | Eric Leman | 154
197 | Fränk Schleck | 154
198 | Rigoberto Urán | 154
199 | Marino Basso | 153
200 | André Greipel | 153
Just to understand the calculation. When comparing for example Cancellara (19) to MVDP (48) how come the big difference when MVDP has one more monument and a gold on the Road which FC has not? All of FCs TT golds?
 
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Just to understand the calculation. When comparing for example Cancellara (19) to MVDP (48) how come the big difference when MVDP has one more monument and a gold on the Road which FC has not? All of FCs TT golds?
Yes, TTs earn big points in this system.
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
 
Yes, TTs earn big points in this system.
Thanks. Clearly debatable. The relative points between categories has a huge impact. Just as an example 25 points for winning PR compared with 40 points for winning the Olympics or 20 points for winning TT WC/OC or 20 points for winning eg Tour de Suisse.

It's quite difficult to arrive at a "fair" relative assessment between races but a few metrics that possibly could be used would be
i) rider/team participation: the more/stronger >>> the more competition >>> the more points, eg TDF gets the most points (but should it be ~2,5 times more than a Monument?)
ii) attention/media coverage: the more >>> the more points, eg Ronde. Unfortunately fresh stats aren't that easy to come by but this compilation gives some indications: https://www.cyclingopinions.nl/wp-c...TV-Viewing-Professional-Road-Cycling-2019.pdf

Quite clearly TDF is the standout cycling event in the world each year but then comes the Monuments and some notable one day races.

Global viewership in 2019 by race and country:
(Spain Italy Wallonia France Sweden Denmark Flanders Netherlands)

1. Tour de France 893.050 1.427.429 253.938 3.700.000 44.293 263.534 564.866 850.000 7.997.110
2. Ronde van Vlaanderen 175.000 1.272.933 230.221 1.125.000 14.000 81.000 1.072.321 516.000 4.486.475
3. Paris - Roubaix 198.000 n.a. 290.257 1.930.000 28.000 n.a. 1.006.965 709.000 4.162.222
4. World Championships: Road race 254.000 n.a. 196.999 1.103.000 136.740 129.000 830.560 702.000 3.352.299
5. Liège - Bastogne - Liège 70.000 n.a. 276.076 1.460.000 21.000 <13.000 732.108 565.000 3.124.184
6. Milano - San Remo n.a. 1.191.000 173.951 891.000 4.000 16.000 513.373 223.000 3.012.324
7. Amstel Gold Race n.a. 626.000 144.296 743.000 9.000 82.000 516.484 579.000 2.699.780
8. Vuelta a España 1.222.476 n.a. n.a. n.a. 16.714 69.000 244.000 100.810 1.653.000
9. Gent - Wevelgem n.a. n.a. 156.868 n.a. 9.000 17.000 694.477 62.000 939.345
10. Flèche Wallonne 91.000 n.a. 199.421 n.a. 11.000 8.000 319.584 233.000 862.005

"• As expected, the Tour de France has the highest combined TV‐viewership with almost8 million TV viewers on averageper stage in the selected countries. Still, in many countries it is not the best watched competition. In Flanders the Tourde France is even ranked 6th only in the above selection of races, in Wallonia it is ranked 3th. Because in Italy the Girod’Italia has higher TV ratings as well, of the8 countries in the table the Tour de France is the best‐watched cycling racein only 3: Denmark, France and the Netherlands. This comes as no surprise since this was the case in 2018 as well.
• The Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris‐Roubaix are the second and third most popular races with4 to5 million TVviewers. Paris‐Roubaix slips to third versus last year because2 observations are missing and the Italian audience inparticular would probably have lifted the race back to 2nd place. The World Championships road race, Liège‐Bastogne‐Liège and Milano – San Remo have3 to 3,5 million TV viewers in the selected countries (note that for each of theseraces viewership information is missing for either Italy or Spain). For the races ranked8 to 10 at least2 observationsare missing. Although this underestimates the global viewership total for these races, it is unlikely to change the rankorder of the races significantly.
• From these data and other or older findings on other countries, and bringing in viewership on sports channels likeEurosport, we believe it is reasonable to assume that the real worldwide TV interest for those races in 2019 would beat most twice the size of the totals mentioned in the table, i.e. no more than 16 million TV viewers for the Tour deFrance, at most9 million for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and so on."


Given some of the stats above the current relative weighting between different races might overestimate eg GTs and TTs and underestimate the Monuments and some 1D classics. Just as an example I cannot think that Roglic has better palmares than MVDP albeit different and almost uncomparable.
 
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100/2163 results.
# Diff. h2hRider Points
1 - MERCKX Eddy 3856.7
2 - KELLY Sean 2172.3
3 - MOSER Francesco 2127.8
4 - HINAULT Bernard 2013.5
5 - DE VLAEMINCK Roger 2002.3
6 - VALVERDE Alejandro 1910.5
7 - ANQUETIL Jacques 1842.2
8 - VAN LOOY Rik 1706.4
9 - JALABERT Laurent 1582.2
10 - BARTALI Gino 1562.7
11 ▲6 POGAČAR Tadej 1560.5
 
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"• As expected, the Tour de France has the highest combined TV‐viewership with almost8 million TV viewers on averageper stage in the selected countries. Still, in many countries it is not the best watched competition. In Flanders the Tourde France is even ranked 6th only in the above selection of races, in Wallonia it is ranked 3th. Because in Italy the Girod’Italia has higher TV ratings as well, of the8 countries in the table the Tour de France is the best‐watched cycling racein only 3: Denmark, France and the Netherlands. This comes as no surprise since this was the case in 2018 as well.
• The Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris‐Roubaix are the second and third most popular races with4 to5 million TVviewers. Paris‐Roubaix slips to third versus last year because2 observations are missing and the Italian audience inparticular would probably have lifted the race back to 2nd place. The World Championships road race, Liège‐Bastogne‐Liège and Milano – San Remo have3 to 3,5 million TV viewers in the selected countries (note that for each of theseraces viewership information is missing for either Italy or Spain). For the races ranked8 to 10 at least2 observationsare missing. Although this underestimates the global viewership total for these races, it is unlikely to change the rankorder of the races significantly.
• From these data and other or older findings on other countries, and bringing in viewership on sports channels likeEurosport, we believe it is reasonable to assume that the real worldwide TV interest for those races in 2019 would beat most twice the size of the totals mentioned in the table, i.e. no more than 16 million TV viewers for the Tour deFrance, at most9 million for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and so on."

Given some of the stats above the current relative weighting between different races might overestimate eg GTs and TTs and underestimate the Monuments and some 1D classics. Just as an example I cannot think that Roglic has better palmares than MVDP albeit different and almost uncomparable.
I don't think average stage views are a fair comparison to one-day races.
 
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100/2163 results.
# Diff. h2hRider Points
1 - MERCKX Eddy 3856.7
2 - KELLY Sean 2172.3
3 - MOSER Francesco 2127.8
4 - HINAULT Bernard 2013.5
5 - DE VLAEMINCK Roger 2002.3
6 - VALVERDE Alejandro 1910.5
7 - ANQUETIL Jacques 1842.2
8 - VAN LOOY Rik 1706.4
9 - JALABERT Laurent 1582.2
10 - BARTALI Gino 1562.7
11 ▲6 POGAČAR Tadej 1560.5
Obviously Valverde was good for a long period which is impressive in itself. But 6th best cyclist (better than Pogi) with 1 GT, 1 WC, 4 monuments (all LBL) - yeah, well, no… Wins like Volta a Catlunya or Fleche Wallone should almost be irrelevant to such rankings.
 
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Obviously Valverde was good for a long period which is impressive in itself. But 6th best cyclist (better than Pogi) with 1 GT, 1 WC, 4 monuments (all LBL) - yeah, well, no… Wins like Volta a Catlunya or Fleche Wallone should almost be irrelevant to such rankings.
But he also has 8 other podiums in GTs, outside of his win.

He also has 7 other podiums in monuments, outside of his win.

He also has 6 other podiums in WC, outside of his win.

Thats why he is 6th on the ranking, outside of his 133 wins in total... in races like Catalunya and Fleche among other things.
 
Obviously Valverde was good for a long period which is impressive in itself. But 6th best cyclist (better than Pogi) with 1 GT, 1 WC, 4 monuments (all LBL) - yeah, well, no… Wins like Volta a Catlunya or Fleche Wallone should almost be irrelevant to such rankings.
Gets boosted significantly by podiums, even if he never really threatened for the win in his last five GT podiums
 
Just to understand the calculation. When comparing for example Cancellara (19) to MVDP (48) how come the big difference when MVDP has one more monument and a gold on the Road which FC has not? All of FCs TT golds?
Yes, Van der Poel and Cancellara are close to each other in the classics, but Cancellara takes a lot of extra points with all those time trial wins: four world titles and two Olympic titles. He also won the Tour the Suisse and eight Tour stages. Van der Poel takes a lot of points in the spring, but not during the rest of the road season. He would be a lot higher if cyclo-cross was included.
 
Yes, Van der Poel and Cancellara are close to each other in the classics, but Cancellara takes a lot of extra points with all those time trial wins: four world titles and two Olympic titles. He also won the Tour the Suisse and eight Tour stages. Van der Poel takes a lot of points in the spring, but not during the rest of the road season. He would be a lot higher if cyclo-cross was included.
I think an alternative Ranking would be to calculate an average for the top 20 all-time best riders based on subjective opinions. Basically ”who do you think is the best ever cyclist from 1-20”. Clearly the result would firstly be biased towards contemporary riders and secondly towards the opinions of the engaged cycling fans, but still why not? I am certainly convinced that 1) Pogacar is clearly at par with Merckx and 2) the sport has progressed immensely so when comparing today’s riders with yesterday’s and yesteryears riders there should be a bias to the former.

In my (totally) subjective list:
Merckx is still #1 due not that I believe he would beat Pog in modern day racing (because he definitely wouldn’t) but due to his massive palmares
Then comes Pog because all the others do not match up
From there it becomes more difficult but I would clearly put Van der Poel ahead of both Remco, Roglic, Cancellara and most of ancient times greatest.
 
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