Okay, this isn't a top-10 (or a top-anything), but rather just a random list of riders I like with the - sometimes quite weird - reasons why I like them.
Dan Craven
He's got a beard, and he's from Namibia. Yeah...
Amanuel Gebrezgabihier
I'm just looking forward to him getting into a break, or even winning, at some major race so commentators will have to pronounce his name. (Though I suppose Eritrean commentators will have an advantage. Then again, I don't watch Eritrean television that often...)
Jack Bauer
His name is Jack Bauer!
Domenico Pozzovivo
I remember when I first started noticing him back in 2012. I was basically thinking 'Huh. Who's this guy? He's tiny! Looks like he's in his early twenties, not late. Oh... and he's got/is working on a PhD. Well, why not?'
Needless to say I was really scared after his crash in the Giro last year.
David Zabriskie
Just for his general weirdness.
Esteban Chaves
Just love that smile, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Linda Villumsen
The "Danish" New Zealander. Although... she is a bit of a traitor.
Amalie Dideriksen
Our best female (road) rider, might have helped making female cycling a bit more popular around here.
John Ebsen
This random, for the longest time virtually unknown around here, Danish guy who spent most of his early cycling career in Asia.
Jesper Hansen
Until last year's Tour of Norway, and then especially the Vuelta, he was in many ways the "forgotten" Dane among those left on Tinkoff after Oleg's takeover.
Jens Voigt
Just because.
I especially remember his reaction after his terrible crash at the Tour in 2009. First he was disappointed that he couldn't continue, then he was very determined to finish the Tour in 2010 - tiny yellow bike - having said that 2009 was probably gonna be his last Tour, but not wanting to end like that. Then he, of course, went on to ride in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Johan Vansummeren
Seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Andy Schleck
Again, just seems like a genuinely nice guy. Also, I didn't like the way he was treated by the Danish public after he left Saxo, he practically went from being everyone's darling to "Nastybad Andy" who'd made the horrible crime of leaving a foreign team to ride on a team from his own country.
Lars Bak
You turn on your television, and there's Lars Bak at the front of the peloton.
Honourable Mentions. Aka, guys I wish I could've gotten to know about more.
Wouter Weylandt
His death was the wakeup call for me, making me realise that riders dying was not something that only happened in some distant unenlightened past from before everyone started wearing helmets. I still remember sitting at home in our living room watching in horror as my mother said those horrible words: "He's dead. There's too much blood!"
Xavier Tondo
More tragedy within short time. After his death I read a lot of articles describing as a nice, always smiling, guy. There was especially one which spoke of a terribly rainy stage at the 2010 Giro; nobody had been smiling when they crossed the line, except Xavi.
Antoine Demoitie
His tragic death understandably caused outrage as it was the result of yet another moto-cyclist accident in a long string.
Daan Myngheer
Not only was it unfair that someone so young had to die, the fact that it happened so close to Demoitie's death just added to the tragedy.
Gijs Verdick
Yet more tragedy. This year has just been terrible.
Stig Broeckx
The only one among the honourable mentions who's still - at least technically - alive. Hopefully we'll still be able to know more about him as a person. As for him as a rider; I honestly don't care! I don't care if he'll never ride again. There are more important things.