AC the most complete rider ... never. There is no way he can be compared to Eddy Merckx, as many have already said in this thread. Eddy is the only rider to have won all three GTs (5 TdFs, 5 Giros, 1 Vuelta) and all five of the cycling monuments (7 MSRs, 2 Rondes, 3 PRs, 5 LBLs, 2 Giro di Lombardias) as well as being thrice WC. In the 1969, he won the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys. In 1972, after winning the TdF, Giro and four classics, he broke the hour record (which stood for 13 years). From 1969 to 1973, he won between 33-45% of races he competed in. Incomparable. Look at his major wins by year:
1966 - MSR
1967 - MSR, La Fleche Wallone, WC
1968 - PR, Giro
1969 - MSR, Ronde, LBL, TdF
1970 - TdF, Giro
1971 - MSR, LBL, TdF, WC, Giro di Lombardia
1972 - MSR, LBL, TdF, Giro, Giro di Lombardia
1973 - PR, LBL, Giro, Vuelta
1974 - TdF, Giro, WC
1975 - MSR, Ronde, LBL
1976 - MSR
But there were also many other great riders who would rank above AC as more complete riders. Four riders have won a GT and Monument in the same year: Eddy, Coppi, Bobet and Hinault. Look at their records and you'll see much more complete riders than AC:
- Coppi: 5 Giros, 2 TdFs, 1 WC, 3 MSRs, 1 PR, 1 La Fleche Wallone, 5 Giro di Lombardias
- Bobet: 3 TdFs, 1 WC, 1 MSR, 1 Giro di Lombardia, 1 Ronde
- Hinault: 5 TdFs, 3 Giros, 2 Vueltas, 1 PR, 2 LBLs, 2 Giro di Lombardias, 1 WC, 2 La Fleche Wallones, 1 Amstel Gold, 1 Ghent-Wevelgem
Roche won the triple crown (TdF, Giro and World Championship) in 1987, which Eddy did in 1974. Fignon was the last GT winner to have won a monument (MSR).
So who IMO is the most complete rider in the current peloton? Well, doping aside, there are some legitimate claims for:
- Valverde: 1 Vuelta, 2 Dauphine, 2 LBLs, 1 La Fleche Wallone
- Cunego: 1 Giro, 3 Tour di Lombardias, 1 Amstel Gold
- Vinokourov: 1 Vuelta, 1 Paris-Nice, 1 Tour de Suisse, 1 Dauphine, 1 LBL, 1 Amstel Gold
- Di Luca: 1 Giro, 1 LBL, 1 La Fleche Wallone,, 1 Amstel Gold, 1 Tour di Lombardia
- Evans: 2nd twice TdF, 3rd and 4th Vuelta, 2nd twice Dauphine, WC, 2nd and 5th La Fleche Wallone
- Andy Schleck: 2nd Giro, 2nd TdF, 1 LBL, 2nd La Fleche Wallone, 4th Giro di Lombardia
Vino's too old, Cunego is concentrating on the classics and GT stage wins, and Di Luca is suspended. Valverde is probably the most complete rider of the remaining three candidates, but is not as good a climber as either Evans or Andy Schleck which tends to limit his GT opportunities. However, he is a better sprinter and overall rider and that suites his classics aspirations. He may also be out of contention depending on the upcoming CAS ruling. For the future though, Andy Schleck and Edvald Boasson Hagen are the two most likely riders to win GTs and classics.
As for the best stage racer, AC is obviously the best of the current riders. But the best ever? He has to win many more stage races, both GTs and others, before he gets into the same realm as Merckx (11), Hinault (10), Anquetil (8), Coppi (7), Indurain (7), Gimondi (5) and Bartali (5). AC races on instinct and his tactical knowledge and ability to read a race is definitely questionable. While he has the talent now to get away with that deficiency, he will get older and slower and this may not always be the case. As for beating the total number of GT wins, he will likely need to target more than one GT per year but it is also very difficult to win two GTs per year (only 10 riders, including AC, have achieved this feat; Merckx did the TdF-Giro double three times and the Giro-Vuelta double once, while Coppi, Indurain and Hinault did the TdF-Giro double twice).
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram