Teams & Riders The Big 6

Page 28 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
2019-2021 era was odd.

You had Alaphilippe and flipping Fuglsang being the world's best cyclists for a while. Froome hadn't been quite replaced yet. GT and new kid Bernal were most recent Tour winners.
Valverde wore rainbow stripes.

Then WVA hit the peloton swinging and almost won a difficult OGRR with everyone in his wheel, including Pogacar.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
2019-2021 era was odd.

You had Alaphilippe and flipping Fuglsang being the world's best cyclists for a while. Froome hadn't been quite replaced yet. GT and new kid Bernal were most recent Tour winners.
Valverde wore rainbow stripes.

Then WVA hit the peloton swinging and almost won a difficult OGRR with everyone in his wheel, including Pogacar.
Alaphilippe was very good, but it was crazy that he finished in the top5 of the Tour with Buchman.
Neither of them has ever been top 5 in a GT again.

Jumbo finished on the podium with Kruijswijk, his last top10 and became domestique.

Inusual top5. It was definitely a transitional Tour.
 
Alaphilippe was very good, but it was crazy that he finished in the top5 of the Tour with Buchman.
Neither of them has ever been top 5 in a GT again.

Jumbo finished on the podium with Kruijswijk, his last top10 and became domestique.

Inusual top5. It was definitely a transitional Tour.
it was the year Dumoulin should have ridden the tour instead of getting injured in the Giro.
 
You can't change the past so better to write and focus on the future. As for Alaphilippe discussion, we can't know what was going on in his personal life but the form did seem to demise, for whatever reasons involved. At his peak level i feel he would still win stages and one day race events today.
 
Alaphilippe was very good, but it was crazy that he finished in the top5 of the Tour with Buchman. Neither of them has ever been top 5 in a GT again.
Buchmann did look really good in the Dauphine the following yeas before his crash, and I think he very well could have finished in the top 5 of the Tour that year if it wasnt for this crash. Also in 2021 he crashed out of the Giro from another potential top 5 and since that he was never really the same again even if he did OK and got 7th in the 2022 Giro. Buchmann before these crashes were pretty good and I think it is easy to forget that when seeing him now.

But 2019 was definitively weird. Pinot really should have won that Tour...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lui98
Buchmann did look really good in the Dauphine the following yeas before his crash, and I think he very well could have finished in the top 5 of the Tour that year if it wasnt for this crash. Also in 2021 he crashed out of the Giro from another potential top 5 and since that he was never really the same again even if he did OK and got 7th in the 2022 Giro. Buchmann before these crashes were pretty good and I think it is easy to forget that when seeing him now.

But 2019 was definitively weird. Pinot really should have won that Tour...

Omg, Pinot and the Tour 2019, that was such a bummer. A true sign of how unfair life can be.
I remember watching this dreadful stage in a hostel in Sofia with some french folk on the little tablet I had brought on the trip. The excitement before and disappointment after.
 
More seriously, I think the notion of the "Big n" riders is so ephemeral that a wikipedia article about it seems doomed to be outdated with just a few results.

The topic is perfect for cycling journals, or blogs, or forums but not wikipedia.
 
  • Like
Reactions: proffate
More seriously, I think the notion of the "Big n" riders is so ephemeral that a wikipedia article about it seems doomed to be outdated with just a few results.

The topic is perfect for cycling journals, or blogs, or forums but not wikipedia.

Eventually everything gets outdated but for now i wouldn't worry about it too much. Big Four exist for around half a decade now and likely the plan is to add another half a decade to it. If needed they can get renamed to the original Big Four once the next Big Four to emerge. Historically speaking a slim chance in that happening anytime soon.