The sport of cycling is steeped in history, from the earliest days of helmetless riding across the cobbles of northern Europe to the sunflower fields of France in July. These races require some degree of fame to be run at the highest level of the sport, but those who have excelled and dominated the sport have become legends. These legends were famous in their time and continue years later.
Some of these great riders became great in questionable ways, but despite their mistakes, they are still known and recognized around the world. There are many famous cyclists out there; It just depends on who you ask and where you are from. These are some of the most famous cyclists in the world from the past as well as the present.
Eddy Merckx
We apologize to Hinault, but it was a relatively easy choice. Merckx, nicknamed the Cannibal for the way he devoured his rivals, was the closest thing we’d get to perfection in cycling. The owner of five Tour de France GC wins, five Giro wins and two Vuelta wins, Merckx’s 11 Grand Tour victories put him one place ahead of Hinault for the most all-time. In the 1969 edition of the Tour, Merckx captured the yellow, green and polka dot jersey, winning by over 18 minutes over the entire Secretariat. And, he’ll be the first to tell you how difficult this feat was to achieve. Merckx gave his all day in and day out, to the point where he regularly required oxygen at the end of stages. Merckx has never entered a Grand Tour (17 in all) where he did not finish in the top 10.
Fausto Coppi
World hour record holder, world champion, five-time Giro d’Italia winner, two-time Tour de France winner Fausto Coppi was nicknamed “Campionissimo”, champion of champions. Coppi was known to win by large margins, often in excess of 10 minutes. He dominated the sport before and after World War II, where he was held as a prisoner of war in North Africa.
Binard Hinault
The Badger from France has won the Tour de France five times with twenty-eight stage wins as well as both the Giro and Vuelta twice during his career. He was respected as well as feared by riders in the peloton of his time due to imposing discipline and cooperation among riders to protest unruly stages for example.
Miguel Indurain
With riders over 70 kilos hoping they too can win a Grand Tour, “Big Mig” is possibly the heaviest rider ever to win the Tour de France… and did so on five consecutive occasions. Add two Giiri d’Italia, a World ITT crown and you can see why the Spaniard is regarded as one of the sport’s true greats.
Greg LeMond
Greg Lemond is an American former road racing cyclist and anti-doping advocate. Widely considered the greatest American cyclist of all time, LeMond is a three-time Tour de France winner and two-time Road Race World Championship winner. Greg LeMond is also regarded as a symbol of the globalization of sport and is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounder cyclists of the present era.
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini, often referred to as “Cipo” by the popular media, is widely noted for his running ability. He was nicknamed “Il Rey Leone” and Super Mario and amassed a total of 191 championship victories in his career spanning from 1989 to 2005. Cipollini returned to the Tour of California in 2008 with Rock Racing after retiring from the professional circuit. And got third place. on stage 2. He started manufacturing his own brand of bicycles from 2010, which is used by the Italian ISD-NERI team.
Lance Armstrong
Ah yes, the king of controversy. and king of the Tour de France, even if those victories have since been surpassed. Say what you will about Lance Armstrong, his cycling prowess is undeniable, even with the doping asterisk (one asterisk, we might add, deserves many more). He won the Tour de France seven years in a row and did so after recovering from cancer. They may not be official anymore, but it’s still something that no one else has done. Armstrong also has a world championship title, two Tour DuPont victories, a win at the Clásica de San Sebastián, and an Olympic bronze. His record may be tarnished, but his legend will live on in the game.
Jens Voigt
Recently retired German cyclist Jens Voigt is not credited for his large number of high-caliber victories, not really in terms of Grand Tours or prestigious Classics, but in terms of his riding style and fan-likeness. reason. , He is a highly aggressive rider who made a career out of getting into breakaways and riding hard all the time. His motto was “Shut-up legs” which was printed on his top tube later in his career.
Peter Sagan
Peter Sagan is one of the most famous cyclists. He is known for entertaining fans with his quirky behavior and appearances. The Slovak professional road racer enjoyed a successful junior cyclocross and mountain bike racing career. He won the junior cross-country race at the 2008 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships.
Chris Froome
Chris Froome is a Kenyan road racer with a British passport who had a famously close rivalry with Sir Bradley Wiggins. The two often battled it out on the Tour de France, but Chris Froome came out on top in 2016. Froome specializes in time trial and climbing, perfect combination for Tour de France
