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Who had the best season in the last 20 years?

Page 14 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Who had the best season in the last 20 years?

  • Gilbert 2011

    Votes: 47 46.1%
  • Cipollini 2002

    Votes: 2 2.0%
  • Cavendish 2009

    Votes: 5 4.9%
  • Pantani 1998

    Votes: 26 25.5%
  • Cancellara 2008

    Votes: 3 2.9%
  • Boonen 2005

    Votes: 6 5.9%
  • Petacchi 2003 or 2004

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • Contador 2008

    Votes: 8 7.8%
  • Zabel 2001

    Votes: 4 3.9%

  • Total voters
    102
Those are more realistic for multiple reasons; hence they’ve both been done more recently. Giro/Tour is the big one, and you have to think Pog is the most likely to achieve it since peak Contador.

I agree but it depends on the competition, which is strong (and will remain strong in next few years) i.e. I wouldn't expect Pog (after the Giro in his legs) to beat an in-form Roglic at the Tour. A very careful planning is required i.e. he would probably have to be considerably undertrained at the start of the Giro and to ride himself into form there (but can he win then?). He's never raced a GT double so the hardest double as his first doesn't look likely.
 
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In September 2011, his CQ score must have been off the charts.
From 1 Sept to the end of 2010, he scored 730 CQ points: 1 Sept to end of 2011 he scored 829, so his peak score is probably that end of 2011 score of 3180. Pogacar is currently at 3656, which I believe is the highest CQ score since it started its system in 2002 (certainly highest end of year score)
 
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From 1 Sept to the end of 2010, he scored 730 CQ points: 1 Sept to end of 2011 he scored 829, so his peak score is probably that end of 2011 score of 3180. Pogacar is currently at 3656, which I believe is the highest CQ score since it started its system in 2002 (certainly highest end of year score)
Gilbert's rolling peak was after the 2011 WCRR. Froome's peak was after the 2018 Giro. Sagan's was after the 2017 K-B-K. Roglič's was after this year's FW.
 
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I still feel the ranking is skewed towards GC guys.
If you are the best in a 3-week GC Tour, you will get a lot of points as you compete against the same riders day in day out. Every rider in a GC tour gets worse, but if you're the best, you get less worse.

It's different in 1-day races: There is a lot more going on in terms of racing strategy, and if you are the best in a certain time frame (e.g. the Ardennes classics), you have 3 chances in 2.5 weeks to score points, and each race is against a full peloton with new, fresh riders.
Compare that to a GC rider who gets 4-5 mountain stages, a TT in the end with a reduced (crashed out) and not so fresh peloton, and ofcourse, you get a lot of points for the overall GC.

I don't say or argue that the GC riders don't deserve this, but it is skewed. So in order to score this bizarre amount of points over Sagan / Gilbert, we need a dominant GC rider that just keeps on going and has the tactical insight in winning classics. And that's where we are now with the absolute legendary Tadej Pogacar. Sometimes I feel we aren't giving him enough attention on this forum. Other GC winners would have finished the season already after the Tour or the Olympics, but Pogacar keeps going, even in races that aren't his cup of tea (like the world's).
 
I still feel the ranking is skewed towards GC guys.
If you are the best in a 3-week GC Tour, you will get a lot of points as you compete against the same riders day in day out. Every rider in a GC tour gets worse, but if you're the best, you get less worse.

It's different in 1-day races: There is a lot more going on in terms of racing strategy, and if you are the best in a certain time frame (e.g. the Ardennes classics), you have 3 chances in 2.5 weeks to score points, and each race is against a full peloton with new, fresh riders.
Compare that to a GC rider who gets 4-5 mountain stages, a TT in the end with a reduced (crashed out) and not so fresh peloton, and ofcourse, you get a lot of points for the overall GC.

I don't say or argue that the GC riders don't deserve this, but it is skewed. So in order to score this bizarre amount of points over Sagan / Gilbert, we need a dominant GC rider that just keeps on going and has the tactical insight in winning classics. And that's where we are now with the absolute legendary Tadej Pogacar. Sometimes I feel we aren't giving him enough attention on this forum. Other GC winners would have finished the season already after the Tour or the Olympics, but Pogacar keeps going, even in races that aren't his cup of tea (like the world's).
IMO most rankings mostly way overrate lesser one day races and lesser placings, rather than overrating GC guys.
 
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According to PCS, CQ and UCI ranking this should be the top10 of 2021:

1.Pogacar: 1 1 1 = 3pts
2. Van Aert: 2 2 2 = 6pts
3.Roglic: 3 3 3 = 9pts
4. Alaphilippe: 4 5 4 = 13pts
5.Colbrelli: 6 4 7 = 17 pts
6. Bernal: 8 6 6 = 20pts
6.Almeida: 5 7 8 = 20pts
8. MvdP: 9 8 5 = 22pts
9.Philipsen: 7 10 13 = 30pts
10.Carapaz: 9 14 9 = 32pts
11.Mohoric: 10 12 11 = 33pts
12.A. Yates: 10 13 12 = 35pts
I do not really know how they make up their rankings and what races they take into account but I quite like it. I might put Roglic in 2nd place tho.

Philipsen should not be there tho.
 
Last edited:
  • Wow
Reactions: Sandisfan
I still feel the ranking is skewed towards GC guys.
If you are the best in a 3-week GC Tour, you will get a lot of points as you compete against the same riders day in day out. Every rider in a GC tour gets worse, but if you're the best, you get less worse.

It's different in 1-day races: There is a lot more going on in terms of racing strategy, and if you are the best in a certain time frame (e.g. the Ardennes classics), you have 3 chances in 2.5 weeks to score points, and each race is against a full peloton with new, fresh riders.
Compare that to a GC rider who gets 4-5 mountain stages, a TT in the end with a reduced (crashed out) and not so fresh peloton, and ofcourse, you get a lot of points for the overall GC.

I don't say or argue that the GC riders don't deserve this, but it is skewed. So in order to score this bizarre amount of points over Sagan / Gilbert, we need a dominant GC rider that just keeps on going and has the tactical insight in winning classics. And that's where we are now with the absolute legendary Tadej Pogacar. Sometimes I feel we aren't giving him enough attention on this forum. Other GC winners would have finished the season already after the Tour or the Olympics, but Pogacar keeps going, even in races that aren't his cup of tea (like the world's).
If rankings are skewed towards gc guys, it’s probably because winning gc is the hardest thing in the sport. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it. If there were a way to make GC more open to guys like Sagan/Gilbert, not to mention Ganna, maybe it would be more fair on them; Kelly and Moser had to take a LOT of time in sprint bonuses and TTs to take their GT wins.