Who is the most underrated rider

[Anonymous]

Ok, no poll, and possibly slightly less contencious than a who is the most overrated poll.

Which rider, if things had been different, could have been a star, or doesnt get the plaudits he deserves. Maybe a rider who gets results but flies under the radar a bit, or gets results on a poor team (cadel springs to mind)

At the moment, Im going to go with Phillipe Gilbert, well known in the real cycling community, but doesnt really get the press and the plaudits he deserves considering his performances.

 

[richo36]

Szmyd, Even though he is talked up, i dont feel he is enough. His work is amazing.

 

[Moondance]

Some guys that spring to mind immediately are Szymd, Visconti, Francesco Gavazzi, Daniel Moreno... Guys like that. Who are consistent and always perform well, but don't necessarily get to ride for their own chances in big races.

2 years ago i think Gilbert might've been the most underrated rider out there.. He was always getting good results in races but the simple fact that he rode on a consitently shitty (or at least lacklustre) team like FdJ sort of held him back i think in the perception of many. Right now I think everyone rates him exactly where he should be, as one of the very best cyclists in the world, and perhaps the pre-eminent classics specialist.

EDIT: Just thought about Ezequiel Mosquera. Very strong climber who does well in every race he targets with limited team resources. He's also held back by which races he can enter, sadly, because he rides for an obscure-ish team. If the Alonso-Santander-Contador team gets set up this off-season I hope Mosquera is one of the guys they pick up and offer him a chance to shine on the big stage.

 

[tgsgirl]

I'm not going to say he is THE most underrated rider, but he deserves a nomination at least: Bert De Waele, for consistently being up there in two or three classics and never getting a mention for it.

 

[issoisso]

I'm not going to say he is THE most underrated rider, but he deserves a nomination at least: Bert De Waele, for consistently being up there in two or three classics and never getting a mention for it.

Good pick.

This reminds me of a similar topic on another forum back in 2007. Everyone got to pick only one rider. Going through it 3 years later, some picks were brilliant and others were hilariously awful

 

[Moondance]

Good pick.

This reminds me of a similar topic on another forum back in 2007. Everyone got to pick only one rider. Going through it 3 years later, some picks were brilliant and others were hilariously awful

Examples of horribles please (if you can remember any)

 

[issoisso]

Examples of horribles please (if you can remember any)

Some biased dutchman named Wielinga

 

[Bala Verde]

Le Mevel?
Kolobnev?
Taaramae?
Duque?

Mosquera was a good pick.

 

[Moondance]

Some biased dutchman named Wielinga

The shame

Wielinga is a funny example though. The dude had some incredible lab stats (still among, or maybe even the highest ever recorded by a Dutch rider) but was never able to convert any of that into actual results. Maybe those amazing stats had something to do with working with Cecchini for a few years.....

 

[Bala Verde]

Some biased dutchman named Wielinga

Well, with a first name that literally means "Braker" + T, no one should be surprised he was not cut out for cycling

 

[issoisso]

I named Vande Velde back then, BTW. I'm quite proud of that

Anyway, currently underrated.
Colli, Kocjan, Pineau (the younger), Paolini, M.Iglinsky, M.Cardoso, Marcato, Fédrigo, Sabatini, F.Masciarelli, Riblon, Van Garderen, Devenyns.
After the way he's been praised this season, I don't think I can continue trumping Tondo as underrated.

Can't think of anyone other seriously underrated cases.

 

[Parrot23]

Joaquim Rodriguez, maybe to some extent?

Edit: ah, I see below: "He was, however, almost criminally underused by Caisse". Thanks, Moondance for info. That's what I meant to say, I guess. The tyranny of a team having one star rider, and everyone else plays second fiddle for years.

 

[Moondance]

Joaquim Rodriguez, maybe to some extent?

I dont think Rodriguez was ever underrated.... I mean I've known for years now that he was one of the strongest guys out there. He was, however, almost criminally underused by Caisse; who treated him like Valverde's kid brother when he could've been winning plenty of races all along if he'd been riding for himself. It came as no surprise to me that he's been up there and winnign a bunch of stuff now that he's his own man at Katusha.

 

[ttrider]

Kloeden, Ivanov
M iglinski is a very good shout

 

[Moondance]

Kloeden, Ivanov
M iglinski is a very good shout

Kloden... Underrated?!?!?

I'd say the opposite is closer to the truth

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Le Mevel?
Kolobnev?
Taaramae?
Duque?

Mosquera was a good pick.

good ones. Iglinksy another good one.

I named Vande Velde back then, BTW. I'm quite proud of that

Anyway, currently underrated.
Colli, Kocjan, Pineau (the younger), Paolini, M.Iglinsky, M.Cardoso, Marcato, Fédrigo, Sabatini, F.Masciarelli, Riblon, Van Garderen, Devenyns.
After the way he's been praised this season, I don't think I can continue trumping Tondo as underrated.

Can't think of anyone other seriously underrated cases.

some good ones there, but I don't think underrated is the right word for Van Garderen. He is still young, and I've noticed quite a few (myself being one) interested in his progress. He will get the hype in due time.

 

[sublimit]

riders like Bjorn Leukemans, Le Mevel. Tony Martin is probably better known but a very good rider also.

 

[p e t e r]

Szmyd, Even though he is talked up, i dont feel he is enough. His work is amazing.

I'm always having the same feeling about Sylwester.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

riders like Bjorn Leukemans, Le Mevel. Tony Martin is probably better known but a very good rider also.

If anything I find tony martin overrated by some.

 

[Potomac]

This a noble ideal for a thread, but the fog of relative anonymity makes it hard to refute many of the suggested names.

If I suggest Noowan Effirhurdivuum as a candidate you will just shake your head a think "Well he certainly doesn't get any press, but does he really deserve it?"

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Some biased dutchman named Wielinga

he was underrated, just mentally unstable, got a fear of riding in the peloton after riding that desaster tour back in 2003..
Outside the race he could do anything.

 

[Anonymous]

This a noble ideal for a thread, but the fog of relative anonymity makes it hard to refute many of the suggested names.

If I suggest Noowan Effirhurdivuum as a candidate you will just shake your head a think "Well he certainly doesn't get any press, but does he really deserve it?"

well for me thats the good thing, brings a few names to my attention.. lack of knowledge about them is nothing that google, or asking the person who mentioned them cant correct.

 

[Anonymous]

Kenny Van Hummel

 

[Cerberus]

Kloden... Underrated?!?!?

I'd say the opposite is closer to the truth

IMO a lot of the second tier contenders (klöden, Leipheimer, Evans etc.) gets both under- and overestimated a lot. Quite a lot of people want to either elevate them to the top level or alternatively ignores their accomplishments altogether.

 

[sublimit]

Leiphiemer seems to do well on the back of a strong TT performance and then just hang on... A very odd rider.

He doesnt look built to be a tester with that position or build either so i dont get it with him. A freak of nature i suppose so its difficult to take it seriously.