Tallest Pro Cyclist

[myusername]

Hi all,

Just curious, who is/was the tallest pro cyclist and how tall is/was he?

It seems that most pro cyclist are around 5'10 and weight 160lbs, so a guy like me, 6'10 200lbs stands no chance...right?

What are your opinions, how important is height when it comes to road racing?

 

[ExRower]

Hi all,

Just curious, who is/was the tallest pro cyclist and how tall is/was he?

It seems that most pro cyclist are around 5'10 and weight 160lbs, so a guy like me, 6'10 200lbs stands no chance...right?

What are your opinions, how important is height when it comes to road racing?

i think it is Johan Van Summeren (sp?)?

The Schleck brothers are pretty tall too.

 

[auscyclefan94]

i think it is Johan Van Summeren (sp?)?

The Schleck brothers are pretty tall too.

Andy is 186cm which is what I am. Tall but not like van summeren who is in the 190's. i think ballan is very tall.

 

[blaxland]

Height is an advantage for road racing but in my opinion it only helps create greater leverage for more torque.(more leverage=riding bigger gears).

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

In recent years I'm thinking Magnus Bäckstedt 193cm (6 ft 4 in) Hincapie is up there too 191cm (6 ft 3 in). More years back there was this super nice guy Italian that was a skyscraper too, but his name is escaping me now.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Marcel Sieberg of HTC-Columbia is 198cm tall.

Susan

 

[42x16ss]

In recent years I'm thinking Magnus Bäckstedt 193cm (6 ft 4 in) Hincapie is up there too 191cm (6 ft 3 in). More years back there was this super nice guy Italian that was a skyscraper too, but his name is escaping me now.

Eros Poli?

When asked what he wanted his headstone to say he said "Here lies Eros Poli, known for being tall and finishing last in the Giro d' Italia"

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Eros Poli?

When asked what he wanted his headstone to say he said "Here lies Eros Poli, known for being tall and finishing last in the Giro d' Italia"

Yes! Poli! I like that guy. He stacks up there with the rest of the tall ones 193cm/6'3"

Didn't realize Sieberg is that tall. Crazy.

 

[MacRoadie]

Boonen is 6'-4", (193 cm).

 

[El Imbatido]

This is taken from last years 'Official Tour de France Guide' it says in the section labeled 'Statistics Of the Peloton':

Stijn Vandenbergh is the tallest: 199cm - he towers over his team-mate Robbie McEwen (171cm)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Vansummeren is 1'97, Sporza commentators said yesterday that Vandenbergh is 1cm taller

 

[Big GMaC]

In recent years I'm thinking Magnus Bäckstedt 193cm (6 ft 4 in) Hincapie is up there too 191cm (6 ft 3 in). More years back there was this super nice guy Italian that was a skyscraper too, but his name is escaping me now.

Backstedt was also heavy. like 90+ kgs heavy right? Hincapie, Wiggins, Ballan, Boonen are all around 6'3 / 190+cm but they are all under 80kgs (exception Boonen and Wiggins when on the track)

The Shlecs as well are very light for their height

 

[Michele]

I think Ondrej Sosenka has been one of the tallest pro riders ever.

 

[issoisso]

Sosenka would be the tallest I can remember, at 2,05m I believe.

Currently, heights range from 1,59m (Dumoulin, Botcharov) to 1,99m (Vandenbergh). There are several riders over 1,90m, the most famous probably being Ballan and Boonen

As for Poli, he may have "finished last at the Giro", but he also won a Tour de France stage over the Ventoux. Respect

 

[karlboss]

Have you thought about pursuiting?

 

[maikel]

Wouter Mol from Vacanse is also a very tall guy

 

[Michele]

A little OT; talking of height, some years ago during an interview, Fiorenzo Magni (il leone delle Fiandre) said that he couldn't understand why nowdays you see many shorter guys compared to his era.

 

[maikel]

A little OT; talking of height, some years ago during an interview, Fiorenzo Magni (il leone delle Fiandre) said that he couldn't understand why nowdays you see many shorter guys compared to his era.

I don't know if that's true, I think the opposite instead. Nowadays you see much more tall guys than then, especially taller climbers, like Gesink, Schleck and kreuziger. That wasn't the case then

 

[Ibanez]

I like that cycling is a sport where there is something for guys that are 1.60m and 55kg all the way to having something for guys that are 2.00m and 85kg.

Makes it so inclusive. If you've got the legs and the grit, there's a type of race that is tailor made for you to win. Not that many sports seem to have that...minus a few exceptions (distance running) bigger is always better nowadays it seems.

 

[42x16ss]

As for Poli, he may have "finished last at the Giro", but he also won a Tour de France stage over the Ventoux. Respect

I know!!! Not bad for Cipollini's lead out man. Apparently he targeted it for a while and even worked out how much of a lead he needed in the break to have a realistic chance of staying away from the climbers.

Always thought he was a pretty cool guy. I remember reading somewhere that he was notorious for egging on some of Cipo's more random behaviour too.

 

[TRDean]

I like that cycling is a sport where there is something for guys that are 1.60m and 55kg all the way to having something for guys that are 2.00m and 85kg.

Makes it so inclusive. If you've got the legs and the grit, there's a type of race that is tailor made for you to win. Not that many sports seem to have that...minus a few exceptions (distance running) bigger is always better nowadays it seems.

Couldn't agree more!! There is something for every body type in cycling...

 

[Beech Mtn]

Mirko Selvaggi from Astana is 195 cm tall. Weighs 73 kg and looks veeery skinny in pics.

 

[Michele]

I didnt know Selvaggi was that tall but agree on the skinny part.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The biggest and tallest cyclist in the world is without a doubt Guillermo Brunetta from Argentina. He is 2.05 m 6"9 tall and weights 96 kg/212 pounds

 

[Jonathan]

Would a taller rider need a different frame geometry (like non-sloping or something), is just a bigger frame good enough, or will they have problems with the frame's stiffness no matter what?