Last anecdote on Frans Verbeeck. At the start of one season he was training at the French Riviera where he would win a handful of nice races like Cannes GP or Monaco GP. Once their was a heavy rain and folks from a hotel saw someone riding a bike out there and would have a laugh at this fool, until they realized it was Frans Verbeeck, then they were in awe.
A hard man like you no longer make any.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XT2KXxF1QE
My top10 from some traditional countries:
Italy:
1 Felice Gimondi (you read me!)
2 Fausto Coppi
3 Francesco Moser
4 Gino Bartali
5 Fiorenzo Magni
6 Giuseppe Saronni (don't like the guy, but still a champion)
7 Alfredo Binda
8 Franco Bitossi (so underrated)
9 Gianbattista Baronchelli
10 Costante Girardengo
France:
1 Bernard Hinault
2 Jacques Anquetil (I hate him but well..)
3 Raymond Poulidor
4 Louison Bobet
5 Laurent Fignon
6 Henri Pélissier
7 Charly Mottet
8 Octave Lapize
9 Louis Trousselier
10 Gustave Garrigou
Spain
1 Miguel Indurain (grrrr)
2 Miguel Poblet
3 Pedro Delgado
4 Marino Lejarreta (RIP nephew Iñaki
)
5 Federico Bahamontes
6 Luis Ocaña
7 Miguel-Maria Lasa
8 Joachim Rodriguez
9 Carlos Sastre
10 Francisco Galdos
Netherlands
1 Joop Zoetemelk
2 Hennie Kuiper (those who rank him lower, care to explain)
3 Jan Janssen
4 Jan Raas
5 Adrie van der Poel
6 Gerrie Knetemann
7 Johan van der Velde
8 Steven Rooks
9 Michael Boogerd ...
10 Wim van Est
Switzerland
1 Ferdi Kübler
2 Fabian Cancellara
3 Heiri Suter
4 Hugo Koblet
5 Oscar Egg
6 Pascal Richard ...
7 Michel Frederick
8 Rolf Graf
9 Beat Breu
10 Stefan Mutter
Germany (yes it is a traditional country, with loooong history)
1 Rudi Altig
2 Dietrich Thurau
3 Rolf Wolfshohl
4 Hans Junkermann
5 Rolf Golz
6 Steffen Wesemann
7 Josef Fischer
8 Gregor Braun
9 Ludwig Geyer
10 Klaus-Peter Thaler (OK that's because I'm a cyclocross fanatic, otherwise Röbl or Stöpl)
Luxembourg
1 Nicolas Frantz
2 François Faber
3 Charly Gaul
4 Andy Schleck
5 Kim Kirchen
6 Mathias Clemens
7 Jang Goldschmitt
8 Edy Schutz
9 Marcel Ernzer
10 Jean Majerus