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

[Bombarolo]

So, you're saying there are better climbers, just not pure enough?

No, sorry, english isn't my first language.

For me, Pantani is the best climber. Of course, Pogacar and Vingegaard can become better if they will keep delivering Plateau de Beille like performance.

Pantani became so mythical because he was more than "just" an amazing cyclist. Sometimes you get these guys that mix both insane talent and personalities like Senna, Rossi, Ali, etc. Pantani was something similar, at least in Italy. Cycling almost reached football like popularity, which was something never seen before for this sport.

Another thing that I feel many people don't remember is that Pantani was always the underdog. There were an insane amount of TT kms back in the 90s and Pantani was always forced to launch insane attacks, even 40-50km from the finish line. Then you have his incredible style while climbing, which was simply unbelievable.

Personally, i've never seen a stage like Mont Ventoux 2000 for example. Pantani was again not as his best and dropped from the leading group (with Lance, etc.), but instead of giving up he was able to come back during the Vantoux climb. And then he started attacking like there was no tomorrow despite the massive wind, with no teammates, against everyone, knowing that Armstrong was extremely strong. He dropped everyone outside Lance himself, which then tried everything to drop him (he gifted him the win though), but Pantani never gave up and went over his limit to keep up.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bMBTRqctF0&pp=ygUZUGFudGFuaSBtb250IHZlbnRvdXggMjAwMA%3D%3D


This is why people liked him so much.

 

[tobydawq]

Yeah, I was just about to ask the Alpe d'Huez question. 1 minute? 2 minutes?

Btw, anyone not having Merckx on their list of the top 10 climbers are out of their mind. You don't win 11 Grand Tours if you're not one of the 10 best climbers of all time. Simple as that.

I'm plenty within my mind.

 

[pihi42]

No, sorry, english isn't my first language.

Neither is mine. Looks like both our countries have our heros/legends now.
I've watched Pantani ride. I started with Indurain and stopped during the Armstrong era - too much going on in life - but I continued in 2009 because of Brajkovič.
This year going to see TDF live, stages 19/20/21, for the first time. I've seen a Giro stage last year.
It's a pity I never saw the legends live, only on TV.

 

[Bolder]

It makes his Legend more tragic, and tragic legends are often the best to tell. But in fact his premature death was only such a big deal exactly because he was such a legend, not the other way around.

I still remember the excitement around us very well when Ullrich exploded in 98, we were in rome, I was very young and we watched it on some TV in a fast food restaurant. I think we stayed longer because I wanted to watch (my grandparents had introduced me to it maybe a year or two before, and ofc Ullrich was the defending champion).

I have mixed feelings about Pantani, like a lot of people.if he were still alive he could be e either a Riis or a Virenque, ostracized or still in the warm embrace of cycling fans. As a climber he was unparalleled but with a huge asterisk.

 

[The Hegelian]

I don't want to be rude but what make Pantani so legendary was his premature death.

It's part of his legend for sure, also the very tragic manner of his passing.

If one was to see Jimi Hendrix on Youtube as a Grandpa, talking about his new Vegan diet, his rock star pathos would become very diluted compared to how he lives in our imagination now.

Pantani as a 35 year old climbing domestique, doing a long turn for some GC leader and then coming in 15mins down....that would have diluted the romance for sure.

 

[franic]

I have mixed feelings about Pantani, like a lot of people.if he were still alive he could be e either a Riis or a Virenque, ostracized or still in the warm embrace of cycling fans. As a climber he was unparalleled but with a huge asterisk.

Indeed. The most enjoyable climber for sure, but hard to consider people like him, Armstrong, Froome and Vingegaard given the huge asterisks.

 

[Bombarolo]

Indeed. The most enjoyable climber for sure, but hard to consider people like him, Armstrong, Froome and Vingegaard given the huge asterisks.

They are all insane talents.