Top 10 current cyclists outside of the 'big 6'

[YavorD]

I think of the 'big 6' being such (rightly or wrongly) because of two reasons:
1) when one or many of them are on the startlist, they are the overwhelming favourites to win (and indeed do win in a high proportion of races, leaving scraps for others)
2) they can win on a variety of terrains, or types of races (stage races, one days, TTs, hilly, cobbles etc)

So when thinking of the 'next 10', I find myself thinking of riders who would be the favourites/most likely winners if the 'big 6' don't turn up, or are their closest challengers when they do, across a variety of the big races (ie not looking at winners in the Asia Tour races ).

The obvious candidates for me are Pedersen, Phillipsen & Milan - all are frequent winners, who can compete in sprints and classics.
Riders like Kooij & De Lie are similar, but I feel like they need more success in the big races to be included in the 'next 10'. Likewise Thibaut Nys who perhaps needs another successful season and races vs the big 6, to be included.

In stage races / climbing races, the equivalent obvious candidates from the past season or two are Adam Yates & Jorgensen. Riders like Carapaz & Alaphilippe are too inconsistent for me these days to be included.

There's then the riders who are versatile & often considered favourites or are very visible, but don't actually deliver many wins - Pidcock & Healy for example. Narvaez too.

And finally, there's the prolific winners but one-dimensional riders, ie sprinters & TTers - Tim Merlier & Ganna being the only real candidates over the past couple of seasons.

So I'm gonna go for the following list, being a mixture of the above. But I'm struggling to fill the last two spots. So let's call it my 'next 8':

Mads Pedersen
Jasper Phillipsen
Jonathan Milan
Adam Yates
Matteo Jorgensen
Tom Pidcock
Tim Merlier
Filippo Ganna

Well, you can easily add Ayuso (whom I rate higher than Jorgenson) and Almeida and complete the list.
Also, I'd put Pidcock out and include Hirschi. Similar profile but the Swiss wins more often.

 

[Netserk]

That got me thinking. First non-Big-6 rider in ~WT races won by a Big-6 rider:

Lombardia: Ciccone
WCRR: O'Connor
WCTT: Ganna
Montréal: Bilbao
Vuelta: O'Connor
Pologne: Ulissi
OGRR: Madouas
OGTT: Ganna
Tour: Almeida
Dauphiné: Jorgenson
Giro: Martínez
Liège: Bardet
Roubaix: Philipsen
Ronde: Mozzato
E3: Stuyven
Catalunya: Landa
Tirreno: Ayuso
Strade: Skujiņš

 

[Davesta]

Well, you can easily add Ayuso (whom I rate higher than Jorgenson) and Almeida and complete the list.
Also, I'd put Pidcock out and include Hirschi. Similar profile but the Swiss wins more often.

Yes, Ayuso is a good candidate. But Almeida doesn't tick the box for me - he's a solid rider, but doesn't threaten to win races enough to be considered in my view.

 

[YavorD]

Yes, Ayuso is a good candidate. But Almeida doesn't tick the box for me - he's a solid rider, but doesn't threaten to win races enough to be considered in my view.

Well, Pidcock and Jorgenson have a total of 9 wins combined, Almeida has 13. So objectively he wins races more often than them.

 

[Pantani_lives]

This question made me do an interesting experiment. You know I keep an all-time ranking, but that doesn't say who the best current riders are. So I did the following sum:

• Points earned in 2024 x3
• Points earned in 2023 x2
• Points earned in 2022 x1

Adding up those three gives this result:

1. Jasper Philipsen 284
2. Mads Pedersen 196
3. Filippo Ganna 168
4. Marc Hirschi 160
5. Adam Yates 157
6. Christophe Laporte 145
7. Ben O’Connor 138
8. Juan Ayuso 98
9. Richard Carapaz 96
10. Tom Pidcock 95

If you do include the "Big Six" it looks like this, with Philipsen ahead of Van Aert:

1. Tadej Pogačar 1327
2. Remco Evenepoel 704
3. Jonas Vingegaard 550
4. Primož Roglič 514
5. Mathieu van der Poel 473
6. Jasper Philipsen 284
7. Wout Van Aert 239
8. Mads Pedersen 196
9. Filippo Ganna 168
10. Marc Hirschi 160
11. Adam Yates 157
12. Christophe Laporte 145
13. Ben O’Connor 138
14. Juan Ayuso 98
15. Richard Carapaz 96
16. Tom Pidcock 95

This is for men's road cycling only.

 

[Bolder]

Merlier
Philipsen
Milan
Pedersen
Mas
Jorgenson
A. Yates
Hirschi
De Lie
Pidcock

Honorable mention: Almeida, Ghirmay, Gee, Landa, OConnor, 2023 Kuss

 

[Breh]

This question made me do an interesting experiment. You know I keep an all-time ranking, but that doesn't say who the best current riders are. So I did the following sum:

• Points earned in 2024 x3
• Points earned in 2023 x2
• Points earned in 2022 x1

Adding up those three gives this result:

1. Jasper Philipsen 284
2. Mads Pedersen 196
3. Filippo Ganna 168
4. Marc Hirschi 160
5. Adam Yates 157
6. Christophe Laporte 145
7. Ben O’Connor 138
8. Juan Ayuso 98
9. Richard Carapaz 96
10. Tom Pidcock 95

If you do include the "Big Six" it looks like this, with Philipsen ahead of Van Aert:

1. Tadej Pogačar 1327
2. Remco Evenepoel 704
3. Jonas Vingegaard 550
4. Primož Roglič 514
5. Mathieu van der Poel 473
6. Jasper Philipsen 284
7. Wout Van Aert 239
8. Mads Pedersen 196
9. Filippo Ganna 168
10. Marc Hirschi 160
11. Adam Yates 157
12. Christophe Laporte 145
13. Ben O’Connor 138
14. Juan Ayuso 98
15. Richard Carapaz 96
16. Tom Pidcock 95

This is for men's road cycling only.

Thank you for this.

I'm not really sure it is appropriate to talk about the big 6 when WvA hasn't won a major race in 4 seasons.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Geraint Thomas, Sepp Kuss, Landa, , Jai Hindley, Ganna, The twins, Jasper

 

[Potomac]

Thank you for this.

I'm not really sure it is appropriate to talk about the big 6 when WvA hasn't won a major race in 4 seasons.

Tour of Britain?

 

[Andy262]

My 10 for fun…

Tom Skujins
Pippo Ganna
Tom Pidcock
Jesper Phillipsen
Biniam Girmay
Matej Mohoric
Matty Skjelmose
Matteo Jorgensen
Ben O’Connor
Julien Alaphillippe (could yet have a good season)!

 

[MerkantilMerch]

Almeida
Ayuso
Ganna
Phillipsen
Pidcock
Mas
Yates

 

[AmRacer]

In most Classics and Monuments, Wout would beat 3 of the other 5.