Teams & Riders Who are The Top 10 Climbers of All Time

[snipeheem]

Hey guys , new fan of cycling here. At reddit i saw a question, is pogacar a top10 climber of all time? I am curious about your opinion. thanks for answers.

 

[Netserk]

Hey guys , new fan of cycling here. At reddit i saw a question, is pogacar a top10 climber of all time? I am curious about your opinion. thanks for answers.

Relative to his peers or by how fast he can ride up a climb? Is Kuss a better climber than Coppi?

 

[RedheadDane]

Maybe this should be merged with the main Pogacar thread?

 

[snipeheem]

Relative to his peers or by how fast he can ride up a climb? Is Kuss a better climber than Coppi?

Comparing to other greats. Like in basketball we know lebron is in top3 just like kareem who played in 70s

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I gotta say the bots are getting better at making threads.
I think we're still missing a(nother) Contador climbing thread and one for the worst moments of 2023, but maybe they'll appear soon.

 

[Cookster15]

Maybe this should be merged with the main Pogacar thread?

Why this aversion to new threads? There is a downside to massive threads too.

 

[snipeheem]

I gotta say the bots are getting better at making threads.
I think we're still missing a(nother) Contador climbing thread and one for the worst moments of 2023, but maybe they'll appear soon.

Why so agressive brother i am new to cycling and just curious about some things and u just making fun out of me.

 

[Netserk]

Comparing to other greats. Like in basketball we know lebron is in top3 just like kareem who played in 70s

I imagine that the latter would get his ass handed to him if he time travelled to the present just before a match, and that he is equal to Lebron in the sense of how good they are in their era? Because that's the case with all riders before the 90's.

 

[RedheadDane]

Why this aversion to new threads? There is a downside to massive threads too.

Because if we made a new thread for every matter such as this, the forum would be drowning in threads.
Besides, Pogačar's thread is already massive.

 

[Netserk]

Because if we made a new thread for every matter such as this, the forum would be drowning in threads.
Besides, Pogačar's thread is already massive.

We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

[RedheadDane]

We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

What bridge? The "Pogačar's thread being massive" one? We crossed that a long time ago.
And in a couple year's time, the content matter in this thread - providing it gets merged with the main thread - will only contribute a tiny fraction of the general massiveness of the thread.

 

[rallybanana]

Relative to his peers or by how fast he can ride up a climb? Is Kuss a better climber than Coppi?

I imagine that the latter would get his ass handed to him if he time travelled to the present just before a match, and that he is equal to Lebron in the sense of how good they are in their era? Because that's the case with all riders before the 90's.

The recent post in the 'Coffee and Small Danish' thread about Eddy Merckx being the greatest Belgian billiards player of all time made me think about this conundrum. By number of world and European titles Raymond Ceulemans is clearly the best. But would peak Raymond Ceulemans beat peak Eddy Merckx? I have no idea because I know nothing about billiards. You would need to know stuff about career averages and match stats and all sorts of things to answer that question.

 

[Sciatic]

The recent post in the 'Coffee and Small Danish' thread about Eddy Merckx being the greatest Belgian billiards player of all time made me think about this conundrum. By number of world and European titles Raymond Ceulemans is clearly the best. But would peak Raymond Ceulemans beat peak Eddy Merckx? I have no idea because I know nothing about billiards. You would need to know stuff about career averages and match stats and all sorts of things to answer that question.

If you’re going to downgrade (in terms of ranking) riders from older generations (pre-1990s) because of slower times or visual observations, it’s only fair to make the comparison based on how someone like peak Gimondi would perform today by projecting (since this a theoretical anyways) their likely performance using the bikes, training, nutrition, and “programs” available to riders today.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Because if we made a new thread for every matter such as this, the forum would be drowning in threads.
Besides, Pogačar's thread is already massive.

On the other hand if left on it's own it will eventually sink to page 2 and not bother anyone any more.

 

[proffate]

Comparing to other greats. Like in basketball we know lebron is in top3 just like kareem who played in 70s

yea, along with like 48 others

 

[Hugh Januss]

yea, along with like 48 others

Top 3 all time basketball stars: Russell, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Jordan, Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, West, Garnet, Dr. J, Cousy, Cowens, Havlicek, Baylor, Moses, Chief, I may have left a few out.

 

[proffate]

Top 3 all time basketball stars: Russell, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Jordan, Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, West, Garnet, Dr. J, Cousy, Cowens, Havlicek, Baylor, Moses, Chief, I may have left a few out.

tmac, bol bol, melo, melo

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Hey guys , new fan of cycling here. At reddit i saw a question, is pogacar a top10 climber of all time? I am curious about your opinion. thanks for answers.

Welcome to the forum!

I don't know the answer, but if you're looking for an all-time ranking, there's a very good one developed by Pantani_lives in the following thread: https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threa...n-all-time-ranking.37406/page-35#post-2931462

I assume you've already had a look at the PCS page: https://www.procyclingstats.com/rankings/me/all-time

 

[rallybanana]

Using this page in PCS and the links for each rider I counted the riders with the most mountain stage wins at the Tour de France. It would be hard to argue that he's not in the top ten.

12 - Faber, Merckx
10 - Armstrong
9 - Bartali, Pogacar
8- Van Impe, Pantani
7 - Alavoine, Frantz, Zoetemelk, Gaul, Thevenet, Coppi, Vietto, Bahamontes
6 - Hinault, Bobet, Ocana, Froome, Virenque

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Using this page in PCS and the links for each rider I counted the riders with the most mountain stage wins at the Tour de France. It would be hard to argue that he's not in the top ten.

12 - Faber, Merckx
10 - Armstrong
9 - Bartali, Pogacar
8- Van Impe, Pantani
7 - Alavoine, Frantz, Zoetemelk, Gaul, Thevenet, Coppi, Vietto, Bahamontes
6 - Hinault, Bobet, Ocana, Froome, Virenque

Also winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France polka dot jerseys and 2021, 2022 and 2023 winner of Il Lombardia, which is considered a climbers' classic.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Using this page in PCS and the links for each rider I counted the riders with the most mountain stage wins at the Tour de France. It would be hard to argue that he's not in the top ten.

12 - Faber, Merckx
10 - Armstrong
9 - Bartali, Pogacar
8- Van Impe, Pantani
7 - Alavoine, Frantz, Zoetemelk, Gaul, Thevenet, Coppi, Vietto, Bahamontes
6 - Hinault, Bobet, Ocana, Froome, Virenque

Wow, it's incredible how many mountain stages Pogacar has accumulated in just 4 years. He could become an undisputed leader in a few years. The number of wins in other stage races (plus 3 x Lombardy) is also very impressive. Sure, it's not only about his climbing speed but also about explosivity. Still, super-impressive mountain stats.

 

[Netserk]

Using this page in PCS and the links for each rider I counted the riders with the most mountain stage wins at the Tour de France. It would be hard to argue that he's not in the top ten.

12 - Faber, Merckx
10 - Armstrong
9 - Bartali, Pogacar
8- Van Impe, Pantani
7 - Alavoine, Frantz, Zoetemelk, Gaul, Thevenet, Coppi, Vietto, Bahamontes
6 - Hinault, Bobet, Ocana, Froome, Virenque

Only Cauterets was solo, right?

 

[rallybanana]

Only Cauterets was solo, right?

It includes time-trials so 2020 Planche de Belles Filles counts as solo, no?

I used the PCS designation of mountain stages. Armstrong's win at Villard de Lans is only classed as medium mountain so I didn't count that. On the other hand, most of Francois Faber's wins came before the high mountains were introduced to the Tour. His 1908 stage 4 win featured, as the main climb, the mighty Col du Cerdon (595m). He was also nicknamed 'The Giant of Colombes' because of his size so I don't think he gets mentioned in too many conversations about greatest climber.

 

[Berniece]

It includes time-trials so 2020 Planche de Belles Filles counts as solo, no?

I used the PCS designation of mountain stages. Armstrong's win at Villard de Lans is only classed as medium mountain so I didn't count that. On the other hand, most of Francois Faber's wins came before the high mountains were introduced to the Tour. His 1908 stage 4 win featured, as the main climb, the mighty Col du Cerdon (595m). He was also nicknamed 'The Giant of Colombes' because of his size so I don't think he gets mentioned in too many conversations about greatest climber.

I would also think that only solo finish counts, and TT don't. To get a proper view of his climbing capabilities compared to other generations. But I don't agree that it has to be a mountain finish, it can easily be a mountain stage in general, even more so if you have to finish solo.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Because if we made a new thread for every matter such as this, the forum would be drowning in threads.
Besides, Pogačar's thread is already massive.

Or we rename this as "Who are the Top Ten Climbers of All Time", and have a pleasant conversation about it for a few days after which is is swamped with rancour and passive-aggressive spite.