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Your favourite riders!

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B

Breh

Jun 24, 2015
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Tom Boonen
Roubaix 2016, he's the only athlete who ever made me shed a tear. His great accent, his attitude on and off the bike, his smile,... I love it. How he kept coming back after the cocain affairs, skull fracture, his wife's miscarriage, various injuries,...

Alejandro Valverde
Astonishing how a rider can be that consistent. All year round he's in good shape and he seems like a very cool guy who just loves riding a bike. Was so happy for him when he got his win in Andalo.

Tony Martin
His write-ups on facebook are amazing. Not some 140characters twitter message but usually a very lengthy post about the race and team. I watched him fly past me at the worlds in Florence where he just humiliated his opponents. Always gives his all, for himself, for the sprinttrain or to get Boonen in the Roubaix finale. He has a very enjoyable smile and is a great guy to have on the team. His loss in Caceres in 2013 was heartbreaking. The 70kilometer solo to Mulhouse, taking Kwiat on an adventure in the Tour or his efforts to secure the yellow jersey in 2015 only to lose it because of a broken collarbone are other moments that spring to mind.

Michal Kwiatkowski
He's so incredibly inconsistent but a great all-rounder at the same time. I remember wondering what that young Polish guy was doing the finale of the 2013 Ronde. And then 2weeks later he's there, fighting for the win in the Amstel and Liege. A pretty shy guy but defintely one of my favorites.

Jan Bakelants
Very smart guy, he knows what is what in the world. His interviews are usally great, he's not too shy to speak his mind. Very attractive rider. We used to attend the same classes aswell.

Alberto Contador
Great, attacking rider. Not particularly fond of who he his but he's the guy who animates mountain stages.

André Greipel
He's contesting Tony for biggest smile. A sprinter that is very gratefull for the work and faith his team puts in him. His work for his teammates in the northern classics is simply great. Looks to fit in very well in the Lotto family.

Special mentions:
Koshevoy for his cryout on twitter for a new team this winter.
Zakarin. God knows why, I just sympathise with him.
Alaphilippe. How he cried after finishing 2nd in stage of 2 of letour last year.
Pauwels.
Gaviria.

I have a QuickStep problem aswell it seems.
 
K

kingjr

Sep 9, 2012
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Valverde - when he came onto the scene, he was the most complete cyclist I had seen in my young life, sprinting against Armstrong in a MTF and against Boonen and Zabel in the Worlds, to name some of the more famous examples. I like the way he rides, waiting and waiting and striking as late as possible. I don't care if it makes the race boring, this is my favourite type of rider, because it's what I would do if I could. Even at a young age he had the maturity to not get carried away by his own strength and waste his energy, I've always admired that, as well as the fact that he's able to race on a high level throughout the whole season.

Marcel Kittel - I've always loved the big bunch sprints, since I first watched cycling as a 5-year-old, and I had been waiting a long time for a real specialist to come out of Germany, one who could win them the way Cipo, Petacchi and Cavendish did (and still do). Besides I was tired of the thin-skinned Cavendish's winning streak and Greipel was too oafish for my taste (in the sprints, not off the bike) and wasted too many chances, which is not an attribute I like in a rider.
That being said, Greipel is still my 2nd-favourite sprinter.

It goes without saying that I will usually support German riders, meaning Degenkolb in the classics and Martin in the TT's. Maybe I'll live to see the day when another GC-specialist comes around, but I doubt it.

I like Quintana for his style and Froome because he's something completely different from anything else I've seen in this sport. I like Sagan for his versatility and raw ability. I like Stannard for what he did to Van Avermaet and the Quicksteppers in recent editions of Omloop het Nieuwsblad.
I like almost everyone who makes the 'giromantics' angry, except for Gerrans thanks to his face and his voice.

Other than that, I mostly decide who I support based on who I don't want to win.
 
SKSemtex

SKSemtex

Mar 24, 2013
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Sagan
D Martin
Nibali
Boonen
GVA

Contador
Froome - I can believe myself I am writing it but stage TDF/2016 changed my mind completely, especially ST11
Valverde - the most versatile (the best) rider in peloton
Thomas - so unselfish and loyal
Chaves, Rosa, Pantano
and hundreds of others who do this crazy sport
not so favorite: one trick ponies (Cav, Kittel, Quintana ...) but I still respect them
 
tobydawq

tobydawq

Nov 16, 2013
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Peter Sagan
Far and above everybody else. I have been a die-hard fan since Paris-Nice, 2010, and already at that time, I figured he could be the best I've ever seen. And I think it is a testament to the forgetfulness of some people that they say that Gaviria is a bigger talent than Sagan was. Maybe those people should rewatch his two stage wins of that race and remind themselves that he was two and a half years younger than Gaviria is now. Such precociousness and versatility is unheard of and how he has evolved as a rider is incredible. And don't come with your "Gaviria is a different type, and the two are uncomparable"-arguments, because of course that's true. Gaviria is more of a sprinter and should this be winning more than Sagan. He has 14 career wins (on the road - some track exploits should of course be added to that). How many did Sagan have at his age? 36.

Additionally, I am always baffled when I hear people speak of him as a rider whose performances depend on his mood (maybe it is just Danish commentators who say that), given that he always animates any race (away from the high mountains) he is a part of - if he doesn't wait for the sprint in which he will participate.

His off-the-bike-antics are not something I am especially fond of and I find it annoying how he conducts himself in interviews but all is forgiven when he gets on the bike.


Alejandro Valverde
A just as clear number two. As many others, I became a fan when he beat Lance Armstrong in Courchevel, and I am still frustrated by his injury the year after that prevented him from his best ever shot at winning the Tour.

His consistency, longevity and elegance are second to none and I find it upsetting that he has to spend so much of his prime (admittedly, a very long-lasting one at that) helping Quintana. I really hope he can get that rainbow jersey next year.


Esteban Chaves
Personality-wise, he is probably the most inspiring person I have ever seen. His constant radiation of happiness is amazing to behold and it just makes him impossible to dislike.


The Danish lot
Patriotism is difficult to ignore, and in these years it is very exciting to be a Danish cycling fan with so many great talents emerging on the biggest scene. Especially considering the dearth of high-performing Danes since the 1990's (only Michael Rasmussen and to a lesser extent Jakob Fuglsang and Matti Breschel have been lights in the darkness in the meantime). But with Michael Valgren, Magnus Cort, Søren Kragh, Mads Würtz, Lasse Norman and Mads Pedersen, to name but a few, coming up, the future is looking good.

Alberto Contador
To win six Grand Tours after seven participations is pretty incredible. Unfortunately, the ratio is diminishing rapidly, but with his aggressive mindset, he is always guaranteeing an entertaining race. He really should stop spending his team unnecessarily early and often, though, and fewer crashes would also be preferable - although that is probably out of his control.

Ion Izagirre
A very underrated rider (maybe not on this forum but in general). He has found his niche with the one-week races, and with good climbing skills and excellent time trial and descending skills he is quite a complete rider that is just knocking on the door for his first big win.

Imanol Erviti
His two top tens in the cobbled monuments last year was one of the highlights of the spring for me. He must be one of the best helpers in the pro peloton and to see him get his own chances and utilize them so well was really nice to see. Yesterday, he even took a lot of turns on the front on the stage in Paris-Nice even though he had no teammates in his group. Something tells me he is preparing for a repeat of last year's successes.

Tom Dumoulin
He seems like a very intelligent man and his trying to transform himself into a Grand Tour-rider is interesting to watch (if you can even call a rider who has almost won the Vuelta a non-Grand Tour-rider).

Tiesj Benoot
Like Sagan, a very precocious rider. Indrecibly, he is yet to win a professional bike race, but his talent should see him become a big classics contender - maybe already this year. His studying of economics while being a professional cyclist is nice too.

Honorable mentions to Miguel Ángel López, Greg van Avermaet (I know, from a Sagan fan, how dare I?), Michal Kwiatkowski, Primoz Roglic, Michael Woods and Rui Costa.
 
DFA123

DFA123

Nov 7, 2010
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Of the big names I like the really versatile riders the most. And also ones who just get on with racing without excuses and without creating a big circus around them.

GVA
Felline
Valverde
Vakoc
Degenkolb
Anacona
Naesen

Favourite riders are probably smaller names; including a few that I know a bit on a personal level. Unfortunately, most don't do many high profile races , so there's not much point discussing them on a forum! The following couple have had some decent performances in the last couple of years though:

Mikel Bizkarra
David Belda
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
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1. Contador

2-10:
Stybar
Van der Poel
Tom Dumoulin
Zakarin
Felline
Küng
Vichot
Pinot
Gaviria

I don't know about the order of the last 9
I tried to limit myself to the bigger names in cycling because otherwise I'd have to fit in 20 Italians
Honorable mention: Rosa - I'm not crying, there's just something in my eye :(
 
DBotero

DBotero

Mar 14, 2015
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Huge list coming up :eek:
Valverde,Froome,Porte,Zakarin,Nieve,Thomas,Henao,Poels,Stannard,Kennaugh,Uran,Betancur,Grosu,Kristoff,
EBH,The Yates,Landa,Rosa,M.A.Lopez,TVG,Dennis,LLS,Kiryienka,Vanmarcke,Greipel,Spilak,Mollema,Dumoulin,
Demare,Gallopin,Alaphilippe,Terpstra,Swift,Gesink,S.Sanchez,Majka.
 
S

Scarponi

Apr 21, 2015
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1. Contador, this guy actually makes me stay up here in Australia to watch mountain stages just to see if he will do anything special, I guess its how people felt about Pantani

2. Scarponi, got hundreds of little boners last year in the Giro when he would destroy the peleton from 80 riders down to 7 and then the Cima Coppo

Sagan: like Contador

4. Boonen

The rest are just random riders I like because they are always so close but never win as much such as:

Daniel Navarro
Steve Morabito
Ben Hermans
Senechal
SEPULVEDA Eduardo
Machado
PARDILLA
Sammy Sanchez
 
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