The best 10 riders in the world

[Ryo Hazuki]

very good list, but andy and costa don't belong there

I mean the original top ten list in the op

 

[BigMac]

Not wanting to offend, this article is biased from a Spanish pov. Contador the man-to-beat? He deserves to be at the end of the list, if not out.

How come riders that are in their mid 20's have surpassed their peak form? What about Contador? He was so poor this season we can argue he won't get a major win anymore. Yet he appears in second place.

And Andy? I don't know what to say other than he does not deserve to be on the list.

Take Cav in and rearrange the order.

 

[Flamin]

I mean Kelly, Bettini and Boonen would all imho rank equal or higher than him in an all-time ranking, and that's just some of the more 'recent' classics riders.

Boonen and Bettini? No way. Kelly and many others I never saw in real time of course, but it's simply unthinkable there have been 10 or more übermonsters like Cancellara, ever.

 

[Escarabajo]

How the hell can Andy Schleck be in the top-10, but no Boonen???

Who cares if it is Boonen. Just put anybody in place of Andy as of today. It is ridicolous.

 

[Netserk]

I mean the original top ten list in the op

I had no idea with all the other top-10s in this thread.

 

[theyoungest]

ironically that womans top cyclist looks like a man

You really do have some issues, if you have to keep saying this. Small d.ck syndrome?

Stopped reading right here: "We could include people like Wiggins, Van Garderen, Pinot, Porte, Boonen, Mollema or Martin, but most of them are in their late professional days and it’s really likely that we’ve already seen their best performances."

All the facepalms in the world wouldn't do the job.

Well, most of them are better than Andy Schleck, and younger, so yeah...

 

[Roderick]

Boonen and Bettini? No way. Kelly and many others I never saw in real time of course, but it's simply unthinkable there have been 10 or more übermonsters like Cancellara, ever.

Really?

Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Van Looy, Maertens, Kelly, Coppi,Bartali, Gimondi, Moser, Hinault, Anquetil, Bobet.

And that's just picking some riders who are without a doubt better

 

[Flamin]

Really?

Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Van Looy, Maertens, Kelly, Coppi,Bartali, Gimondi, Moser, Hinault, Anquetil, Bobet.

And that's just picking some riders who are without a doubt better

Right. Are you sure all kinds of great, poetic and romantic stories you heard about those riders haven't influenced you?

 

[Roderick]

Right. Are you sure all kinds of great, poetic and romantic stories you heard about those riders haven't influenced you?

Statistics and number of races won don't lie. You can argue that a race result doesn't always tell how strong riders are/were, but how are you gonna compare different generations other than that?

 

[BigMac]

Right. Are you sure all kinds of great, poetic and romantic stories you heard about those u take ariders haven't influenced you?

If you take a look at PCS's special all times, there are at least 10 people in front of Fabian. The points system is based on race results and its trustworthy, from eras with worse equipment.

There is video footage and also people who watched some of them ride.

It is always difficult to make a list of the best mixing GC with Classics type of riders though.

 

[Flamin]

Statistics and number of races won don't lie. You can argue that a race result doesn't always tell how strong riders are/were, but how are you gonna compare different generations other than that?

It's pretty much impossible of course. Except maybe how dominant a rider was/is in his era. Regarding Cancellara, I've never seen grown men ****ting their pants so hard like in 2011. So yes, I believe there has been only a very select group of riders who were that good.

 

[Flamin]

If you take a look at PCS's special all times, there are at least 10 people in front of Fabian. The points system is based on race results and its trustworthy, from eras with worse equipment.

There is video footage and also people who watched some of them ride.

It is always difficult to make a list of the best mixing GC with Classics type of riders though.

Comparing race results between two completely different era's is not trustworthy at all... Or does anyone really believe Cancellara would have won 'only' 6 monuments in, say, the 70's?

 

[Roderick]

Comparing race results between two completely different era's is not trustworthy at all... Or does anyone really believe Cancellara would have won 'only' 6 monuments in, say, the 70's?

I actually believe he may have won less since the competition in 'his' races was extremely high in the '70s and he wouldn't have won in liege or lombardia...

But maybe he would have been better than everbody else and won around 11, who can say?

 

[Flamin]

I actually believe he may have won less since the competition in 'his' races was extremely high in the '70s and he wouldn't have won in liege or lombardia...

But maybe he would have been better than everbody else and won around 11, who can say?

You mean when 8 Belgians finishing top-10 was the benchmark?

 

[Roderick]

You mean when 8 Belgians finishing top-10 was the benchmark?

That time that RvV and P-R-winners could also win stage races, Ardennes-classics, GT's etc in stead of only compete to win in those races (nuyens,devolder,Van Summeren, etc...)

 

[Panda Claws]

It is pretty obvious that this is supposed to be about the 10 best current riders, so why bring Merckx etc. into the discussion

 

[Netserk]

It is pretty obvious that this is supposed to be about the 10 best current riders, so why bring Merckx etc. into the discussion

Because you clearly haven't read what is going on.

 

[Netserk]

Comparing race results between two completely different era's is not trustworthy at all... Or does anyone really believe Cancellara would have won 'only' 6 monuments in, say, the 70's?

Yeah and I'm sure Contador would've won more GTs than Merckx if he competed against him

 

[Panda Claws]

Because you clearly haven't read what is going on.

True. xD

---

 

[Flamin]

That time that RvV and P-R-winners could also win stage races, Ardennes-classics, GT's etc in stead of only compete to win in those races (nuyens,devolder,Van Summeren, etc...)

Your point being?

Yeah and I'm sure Contador would've won more GTs than Merckx if he competed against him

Late 70's.. 60's, 80's.. Whatever, you get the point

 

[Netserk]

Your point being?



Late 70's.. 60's, 80's.. Whatever, you get the point

So Contador would've dominated against Hinault?

 

[Flamin]

So Contador would've dominated against Hinault?

Where is Contador coming from all of a sudden? I didn't mention him even once, so why are you asking?

 

[Netserk]

Where is Contador coming from all of a sudden? I didn't mention him even once, so why are you asking?

You can pick someone else if you want to. Do you think Froome or Armstrong would've dominated Merckx or Hinault?

It's all coming from the your point about comparing different eras, where you insinuated that the competition was far worse back in time:

Comparing race results between two completely different era's is not trustworthy at all... Or does anyone really believe Cancellara would have won 'only' 6 monuments in, say, the 70's?

Now please answer the question.

 

[Flamin]

You can pick someone else if you want to. Do you think Froome or Armstrong would've dominated Merckx or Hinault?

It's all coming from the your point about comparing different eras, where you insinuated that the competition was far worse back in time:



Now please answer the question.

Lol, stop putting words in my mouth. I'm not saying riders were worse back in the day, at all. Just that the top riders were able to win more different type of races.

I believe Cancellara would be very close (if not on par), yes. Not saying he would dominate them. Froome 2013 as well.

 

[Netserk]

Lol, stop putting words in my mouth. I'm not saying riders were worse back in the day, at all. Just that the top riders were able to win more different type of races.

I believe Cancellara would be very close (if not on par), yes. Not saying he would dominate them. Froome 2013 as well.

You don't think "Or does anyone really believe Cancellara would have won 'only' 6 monuments in, say, the 70's?" would correspond with "Or does anyone really believe Contador would have won 'only' 7 GTs in, say, the 70's?"