Pro Cyclists

[Cunego22]

Who are your favorite riders and why?

Mine are Damiano Cunego (obviously), Juan Antonio Flecha and Christophe Moreau. Cunego because he is a tough kid in the mountains, Flecha because he is aggressive and I love that bow and arrow salute, and Moreau because he was the GC guy I picked when I watched my first TdF some years back.

I know this is a corny thread but it is positive and not about doping.

 

[ishiwata]

Who are your favorite riders and why?

Mine are Damiano Cunego (obviously), Juan Antonio Flecha and Christophe Moreau. Cunego because he is a tough kid in the mountains, Flecha because he is aggressive and I love that bow and arrow salute, and Moreau because he was the GC guy I picked when I watched my first TdF some years back.

I know this is a corny thread but it is positive and not about doping.

me, myself, and i.

as for current pros, my favorite is probably zabel, just because he's a class act, doesn't really talk ****, and has been consistent for so long.

and vinokourov. self-explanatory.

i think mayo looks really cool when he's not getting his ass handed to him.

a couple young americans that have made good impressions are raisin and zabriskie. interested to see what they do in the future - hopefully raisin will race again.

other riders i enjoy watching/reading about are mcewen, boonen, horner, cunego, and hushovd.

 

[helmutRoole2]

Moser because he looked like a bullet train when he rode.

Merckx because he was so smooth.

Sean Kelly because of his toughness and the way he stole MSR from Argentin on the descent of the Paggio.

 

[Martin Jackson]

Lance Armstrong

Tyler Hamilton

Floyd Landis

I knew all three. Each told me personally they would never dope and I believe them.

 

[allez jacky]

Who are your favorite riders and why?

Mine are Damiano Cunego (obviously), Juan Antonio Flecha and Christophe Moreau. Cunego because he is a tough kid in the mountains, Flecha because he is aggressive and I love that bow and arrow salute, and Moreau because he was the GC guy I picked when I watched my first TdF some years back.

I know this is a corny thread but it is positive and not about doping.

BTW, about Moreau, since you're a fan, what did you think about his attitude to Dessel during this Tour ? The first questionable thing was when all AG2R team was working hard to keep the MJ on Dessel's shoulders, and Moreau went to see Lavenu and they had a hot argument about something (looks like Moreau was unhappy that the team was spending energy for someone who was NOT him), well ok, that's hard to know what really happened. The second thing was more clear and personnally ****** me off : on the last Alps stage (the famus one where Landis was away catching all the time back), WHY the F... did Moreau attack on the Joux-Plane climb while at the very same time Dessel was struggling behind ALONE, losing ground on the other GC contenders (especially on Menchov who passed in front of him that day), and obviously in desperate need of a teammate ? What for ??? I mean, Landis was 6 minutes ahead, Moreau couldn't even follow Sastre's rythm, and he was too fer behind on GC to expect to win even one spot (which indeed he didn't).
I don't know, I understand that Moreau was the leader of the team, but this attitude looked incredibly selfish to me. If I was a rider in Moreau's team, I don't think I would expect any solidarity from him...

That being said, I'm a big fan of Cunego too. He' gonna be great, I'm sure.

(I also like Gilbert, Boogerd, my favorite one still is Vino)

 

[Virenque]

Lance Armstrong

Tyler Hamilton

Floyd Landis

I knew all three. Each told me personally they would never dope and I believe them.

Really? I would kill to know them!! You have to be pretty good friends too, otherwise they wouldn`t tell you such secret about (not)doping!

I don`t have real favorites. Even more! I have to think which rider I don`t like and why! Maybe Sylvain Chavanel is a bit more of my favorite than others. I like him because he`s always in a breakaway. He`s one of the most if not the most combative/agressive rider in peloton these days!

 

[jsull14]

Good post. Moreau is a punk baby. It was good to see Dessel beat him on GC. Vino is awesome and I was so bummed he could not ride the tour. Zabel is sweet too. I watched Hell on Wheels not long ago (starring Zabel). Boonen seems cool. Favorite Americans are Levi, Floyd, and Alex Candelario.

BTW, about Moreau, since you're a fan, what did you think about his attitude to Dessel during this Tour ? The first questionable thing was when all AG2R team was working hard to keep the MJ on Dessel's shoulders, and Moreau went to see Lavenu and they had a hot argument about something (looks like Moreau was unhappy that the team was spending energy for someone who was NOT him), well ok, that's hard to know what really happened. The second thing was more clear and personnally ****** me off : on the last Alps stage (the famus one where Landis was away catching all the time back), WHY the F... did Moreau attack on the Joux-Plane climb while at the very same time Dessel was struggling behind ALONE, losing ground on the other GC contenders (especially on Menchov who passed in front of him that day), and obviously in desperate need of a teammate ? What for ??? I mean, Landis was 6 minutes ahead, Moreau couldn't even follow Sastre's rythm, and he was too fer behind on GC to expect to win even one spot (which indeed he didn't).
I don't know, I understand that Moreau was the leader of the team, but this attitude looked incredibly selfish to me. If I was a rider in Moreau's team, I don't think I would expect any solidarity from him...

That being said, I'm a big fan of Cunego too. He' gonna be great, I'm sure.

(I also like Gilbert, Boogerd, my favorite one still is Vino)

 

[Bro Deal]

Fignon
Hampsten
Chiappucci
Pantani
Virenque
Simoni
Heras
Landis

 

[SaintAndrew]

tom boonen is so dreamy...

 

[Ricardo29]

1. ryan bayley.
olympic champion, sprint and keirin. dual comm games champion sprint. world champion keirin. (if that qualifys here. in any event, he's a pro cyclist!)

2. armstrong. pure respect.

3. ullrich. tough as hell. would be above armstrong, except for the fact he never beat him and i cant deny LA that.

4. mig. my first hero.

5. vino. the way sport should be played.

 

[JAPANic]

Koji Fukushima...

Not good enough (yet) for the big races but he impresses me every year with a big win... plus I get to ride with him once or twice a year...



One of his biggest rides...

A few years back when Boonen won in Japan Koji was going wheel for wheel with him in a mountain stage break away... they were really pushing it hard around some very dangerous downhill bends...

 

[sergen]

Nobody's mentioned Jens Voight. A class act both on and off the bike.

 

[Cunego22]

BTW, about Moreau, since you're a fan, what did you think about his attitude to Dessel during this Tour ? The first questionable thing was when all AG2R team was working hard to keep the MJ on Dessel's shoulders, and Moreau went to see Lavenu and they had a hot argument about something (looks like Moreau was unhappy that the team was spending energy for someone who was NOT him), well ok, that's hard to know what really happened. The second thing was more clear and personnally ****** me off : on the last Alps stage (the famus one where Landis was away catching all the time back), WHY the F... did Moreau attack on the Joux-Plane climb while at the very same time Dessel was struggling behind ALONE, losing ground on the other GC contenders (especially on Menchov who passed in front of him that day), and obviously in desperate need of a teammate ? What for ??? I mean, Landis was 6 minutes ahead, Moreau couldn't even follow Sastre's rythm, and he was too fer behind on GC to expect to win even one spot (which indeed he didn't).
I don't know, I understand that Moreau was the leader of the team, but this attitude looked incredibly selfish to me. If I was a rider in Moreau's team, I don't think I would expect any solidarity from him...

That being said, I'm a big fan of Cunego too. He' gonna be great, I'm sure.

(I also like Gilbert, Boogerd, my favorite one still is Vino)

I can not defend him because I feel the same way you do. He was a punk on Credit Agricole too, but I have a hard time throwing a guy under the bus that I grew up rooting for. It seems sometimes that guys don't get respect if they earn something in a breakaway like Dessel did. All Moreau did all race was ride along in the peloton and finish 4th-10th in the mountains. If it weren't for Mancebo getting bounced he would have just been a team rider anyway (KoM hopefull?) so I don't know what his problem was....Ok, so I did throw him under the bus.

 

[dclee]

Steve Bauer - amazing all round rider who was extremely aggressive and made breaks work. Not to mention he was one of the early North Americans to find success in Europe, so can be considered a trail blazer. Still showing up at races in Ontario, Canada to show the young guns how it is done.

Laurent Fignon - talent and attitude makes for an interesting character.

Gianni Bugno - likely doped to the gills, but he won some races in spectacular fashion via the solo break.

Davis Phinney - guy could always be counted on for the win.

Nelson Vails and Curt Harnett - seems that track used to get a bit more publicity in the 1980's and 1990's and these two guys were some of the more interesting participants.

 

[Smilf]

Levi Leipheimer - Out of the Americans he is my favorite.
Chicken(Michael Rasmussen) - for his long solo breakaways and his emotional finishes.
Jens Voigt - Who doesn't like Jens?!

 

[JRMDC]

Hincapie - for being steady, a hard worker, a guy chasing a dream and finding it hard to achieve, a guy with flaws

Heras - for years, when I would climb stairs, around the house, out of the subway station, I would think of him, still do sometimes. So sad that he cheated...

Valverde - a guy evolving his talents, full of promise...

... now looking for some more people to root for, team/nation irrelevant

 

[Jacob24]

2. armstrong. pure respect.

5. vino. the way sport should be played.[/QUOTE]right on. vino has so much heart. he is incredible to watch, and
you can have nothing but respect for what lance has done and how he's done it

 

[karlotta]

The one I had hoped would prove to be more entertaining and long-lived was Voeckler. Having lived in Strasbourg, I love the guys with the Alsatian roots. I so wanted him to do well on the Ballon last yr's tour.

 

[meehs]

• Sean Kelly
• Eddy Merckx
• Greg Lemond
• Lance Armstrong
• Jan Ullrich
• Andy Hampsten
• Miguel Indurain
• Jens Voigt
• Mario Cipollini
• Lucien Van Impe

In no particular order. I'm sure I forgot someone but those are the ones I thought of right off the bat. You'll note there aren't any young up-and-comers on my list. I haven't decided who I like yet. They all seem like automatons these days. Or maybe it's just me...

 

[broomwagon61]

Kelly - Super Hard
Bugno -Super Smooth Style