Worst cyclist that won a monument

[Roderick]

There was already a thread about the best cyclist that never won a monument. Now the exact opposite, who do you think is the worst rider that ever won a monument?

To me it is by far Nick Nuyens. The guy had a few good wins in his early years when he was in the shadow of Tommeke and Bettini but after that he was pretty mediocre for the next years. Flemish press always described him as a smart rider, but in fact the only thing he did was wheelsucking and come up short when the real big guns started their race.
Then in 2011 he had his one big moment at de RvV when he won after being completely invisible for 260k and 6,5 hours of wheelsucking.

Other notables imo are Zaugg,Colombo, Durand, Rumsas and Bäckstedt

I didn't consider Van Summeren or Knaven because they are actually just doms who had their one day of glory. The last 5 years Van Summeren is a bit of free rider/ team leader at P-R but the rest of the year he is pulling in front of the peloton

 

[Race Radio]

Marc Gomez

 

[pedromartins]

Without a single doubt: Andy Schleck.

Besides LBL'09, the guy only won 2 TDF stages, one was a "gift". Nothing else.
A few fools even dared to call him "the second best stage racer" and the guy never won a stage race!

Maybe you do not know him since he can't even finish races, but he was afraid to descend, attacked once during his career, was always afraid to drop his brother (his best friend and closest person. A doper) and is an hypocrite. He used to think he was Lance's heir, so he is "protected" by their fanboys.

However, he is such a big joke that even them saw the light. He was so bad, many cycling fans saw everything bad about cycling personified on Andy. He had all the opportunities and money that better cyclists never had, and he ended without being good enough to carry bottles for his mates.

Thank god his career ended 2 years ago.

(BTW, does everyone know what he does for a living?)

 

[zapata]

Goss, surely.

 

[Panda Claws]

Maxim Iglinskiy

 

[burning]

Cav or Goss

But Goss is obviously worse than Cav, so the answer is Goss

 

[The Hitch]

the true answer will come from the annals of history. Wasnt there some French rider who won MSR from the BOTD in the 80's?

In recent years Zaugg, but his was also imo the most impressive win on the day of all the jokers from the last few years, as he just crused everyone on the climb from what was a very select group and then held them all off on the flat.

Also kind of a recent cyclist. Frédéric Guesdon

 

[Lanark]

There was already a thread about the best cyclist that never won a monument. Now the exact opposite, who do you think is the worst rider that ever won a monument?

To me it is by far Nick Nuyens. The guy had a few good wins in his early years when he was in the shadow of Tommeke and Bettini but after that he was pretty mediocre for the next years. Flemish press always described him as a smart rider, but in fact the only thing he did was wheelsucking and come up short when the real big guns started their race.
Then in 2011 he had his one big moment at de RvV when he won after being completely invisible for 260k and 6,5 hours of wheelsucking.

Other notables imo are Zaugg,Colombo, Durand, Rumsas and Bäckstedt

I didn't consider Van Summeren or Knaven because they are actually just doms who had their one day of glory. The last 5 years Van Summeren is a bit of free rider/ team leader at P-R but the rest of the year he is pulling in front of the peloton

I don't like Nuyens, but he's clearly a much better rider and more deserving winner than Zaugg. Outside of the Ronde, he also won the Omloop, Kuurne and Dwars door Vlaanderen in the spring, that's a nice list (although the first two were due to help by his team). Some nice other one day races as well (Parijs-Brussel, GP Walonie (3x). He also finished 2nd in Vlaanderen a couple years before. He isn't going into the history books as a great winner, but he is not undeserving.

 

[Roderick]

Goss, surely.

But Goss is only 26, not unreasonable to think that he will win msr some other time or at least go on winning some other big races like G-W, P-T, Plouay,...

 

[serfla]

Without a single doubt: Andy Schleck.

Besides LBL'09, the guy only won 2 TDF stages, one was a "gift". Nothing else.
A few fools even dared to call him "the second best stage racer" and the guy never won a stage race!

Maybe you do not know him since he can't even finish races, but he was afraid to descend, attacked once during his career, was always afraid to drop his brother (his best friend and closest person. A doper) and is an hypocrite. He used to think he was Lance's heir, so he is "protected" by their fanboys.

However, he is such a big joke that even them saw the light. He was so bad, many cycling fans saw everything bad about cycling personified on Andy. He had all the opportunities and money that better cyclists never had, and he ended without being good enough to carry bottles for his mates.

Thank god his career ended 2 years ago.

(BTW, does everyone know what he does for a living?)

Besides being such a lame rider, what has he done to p1ss you off so much?
Shagged your girl?
Maybe that's what he does for living.

 

[The Hitch]

I don't like Nuyens, but he's clearly a much better rider and more deserving winner than Zaugg. .

Nuyens is a better rider, but i dont think he was more deserving than Zaugg. Nuyens won because everyone was out to get Cancellara.

Zaugg was the strongest rider in his race. It was like he saved all his career powers and put them all into that one race.

If you redid that race zaugg would still win or at least podium . If you redid the Nuyens one he probably wouldnt top 5

Without a single doubt: Andy Schleck.

Besides LBL'09, the guy only won 2 TDF stages, one was a "gift". Nothing else.

3

10 characters.

 

[The Hitch]

Without a single doubt: Andy Schleck.

Besides LBL'09, the guy only won 2 TDF stages, one was a "gift". Nothing else.

3

10 characters.

 

[Pentacycle]

Maxim Iglinskiy

Check his results of 2010, he's just so allround he never had a chance to win anything. Zaugg or Goss on the other hand are one day flies in terms of classics performances.

 

[Lanark]

Nuyens is a better rider, but i dont think he was more deserving than Zaugg. Nuyens won because everyone was out to get Cancellara.

Zaugg was the strongest rider in his race. It was like he saved all his career powers and put them all into that one race.

If you redid that race zaugg would still win or at least podium . If you redid the Nuyens one he probably wouldnt top 5
.

I'd certainly agree with that, but I meant more deserving in the sense that Nuyens' win was the logical extension of the rest of his carreer, Zaugg was a guy who was suddenly the best out of nowhere. I don't think anyone at the start was saying 'it's really about time that Zaugg wins Lombardia, he really has got that coming'.

 

[pastronef]

not worst, but... Gabriele Colombo

sanremo '96

 

[Roderick]

I'd certainly agree with that, but I meant more deserving in the sense that Nuyens' win was the logical extension of the rest of his carreer, Zaugg was a guy who was suddenly the best out of nowhere. I don't think anyone at the start was saying 'it's really about time that Zaugg wins Lombardia, he really has got that coming'.

But the thing about Nuyens is that everyone always said that the next RvV could be the one for him since he already had some good results( wins in omloop and Kuurne, second place in RVV) but they came only because he was a) in the strongest team or b) he wheelsucked his way to a good result. He was never one of the strongest guys in the race by far

 

[Hawkwood]

the true answer will come from the annals of history. Wasnt there some French rider who won MSR from the BOTD in the 80's?

Yes as RR posted above Marc Gomez, he won MSR in 1982, his first season as a pro and he was 28!

 

[pmcg76]

I would think Cav has to be up there. Without a team to control/babysit him through, Cavendish generally wouldn't have a hope of winning any queen classic. His only other top 10 finish in a classic was M-SR this year by which I was impressed that he made the final cut. Maybe he is improving. Cipo gets a pass because of the way he won Ghent-Wevelgem in 02.

The likes of Zaugg, Nuyens, Guesdon all won based primarily on their own performances on the day rather than relying on their team so whilst they were surprises, they were deserving winners.

What about Dirk Demol, Paris-Roubaix 88 when his breakaway companion Thomas Wegmuller got a plastic bag stuck in his derailleur and couldn't change gears for the sprint.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But regardless of how the race was won, the literal definition of this is the "worst cyclist" to have won a monument. Cavendish, however you want to spin it, is one of the very best in the world, so has no place in a thread such as this, while regardless of how much they may have deserved it and had their glory day in the sun, the domestiques who won through lucky breakaways, mishaps, bad weather and even through being the strongest on the day, but who don't have much in the way of palmarès outside of that win, do.

 

[Oldman]

I would think Cav has to be up there. Without a team to control/babysit him through, Cavendish generally wouldn't have a hope of winning any queen classic. His only other top 10 finish in a classic was M-SR this year by which I was impressed that he made the final cut. Maybe he is improving. Cipo gets a pass because of the way he won Ghent-Wevelgem in 02.

The likes of Zaugg, Nuyens, Guesdon all won based primarily on their own performances on the day rather than relying on their team so whilst they were surprises, they were deserving winners.

What about Dirk Demol, Paris-Roubaix 88 when his breakaway companion Thomas Wegmuller got a plastic bag stuck in his derailleur and couldn't change gears for the sprint.

That was truly painful to see.
How about the Belgian vinegar bag that won the World Champs when Dag Otto Lauritzen crashed? Never heard much from him again.

 

[Master50]

Without a single doubt: Andy Schleck.

Besides LBL'09, the guy only won 2 TDF stages, one was a "gift". Nothing else.
A few fools even dared to call him "the second best stage racer" and the guy never won a stage race!

Maybe you do not know him since he can't even finish races, but he was afraid to descend, attacked once during his career, was always afraid to drop his brother (his best friend and closest person. A doper) and is an hypocrite. He used to think he was Lance's heir, so he is "protected" by their fanboys.

However, he is such a big joke that even them saw the light. He was so bad, many cycling fans saw everything bad about cycling personified on Andy. He had all the opportunities and money that better cyclists never had, and he ended without being good enough to carry bottles for his mates.

Thank god his career ended 2 years ago.

(BTW, does everyone know what he does for a living?)

He did win the tour de France officially. I might call him fragile and even weak in the head but he has a watts per kilo I'd love to have. I would agree he has a lot more talent than he has been able to draw upon.

 

[Master50]

I would think Cav has to be up there. Without a team to control/babysit him through, Cavendish generally wouldn't have a hope of winning any queen classic. His only other top 10 finish in a classic was M-SR this year by which I was impressed that he made the final cut. Maybe he is improving. Cipo gets a pass because of the way he won Ghent-Wevelgem in 02.

The likes of Zaugg, Nuyens, Guesdon all won based primarily on their own performances on the day rather than relying on their team so whilst they were surprises, they were deserving winners.

What about Dirk Demol, Paris-Roubaix 88 when his breakaway companion Thomas Wegmuller got a plastic bag stuck in his derailleur and couldn't change gears for the sprint.

For a pure sprinter Cav is a huge talent and his Milan San Remo win was more than proof of it.

 

[Master50]

Alexi Grewal winning the 1984 olympic RR over Steve Bauer who might actually qualify for the other title of one of the best cyclists to miss a big one. I am thinking of Paris Roubaix and the world championships as 2 examples of close but no cigar.

 

[ElChingon]

* What's his name from Garmin that won P-R, see off the top of my head I can't remember his name. He'll never ever win another Classic, I know some will be in shock in reading this but he only won due to everyone keeping Fabian from winning, no other reason. Yes, he can stay upright on the bike but head to head vs the other classic riders, no way will he ever win. (no I'm not going to bother to look up his name either)

* Knaven, yet another P-R winner due to others keeping the favorite Museeuw from winning. Never won again of worth (a lucky breakaway stage does not count this is about the Classics, aka Monuments), then again he was a journyman domestique.

* Oliver Zaugg at Lombardy, did everyone fall asleep? Another one hit wonder here.

* Jacky Durand at Flanders, oh come on! He was logging K's for his Jacky meter and lucked out... a case for the ill fated break succeeding due to favorite riders all thinking, "some other team will reel him in".

* Richard Vireque, Paris-Tours, a climber winning the flattest of Classics yea, I totally believed that one

Lastly, and I'm stretching the Monument tag here:

* George Hincapie at Gent-Wevelgem. Nothing more to add to this one.

 

[quiqui]

Coppi. He could have been better if he hadn't died at 28.