I’d like to put a slightly different slant on ‘Merckx better than Armstrong better than whoever’ This thread is not just about races won but about style, panache, original contributions, changing the game, and so on
My choice is Jacques Anquetil.
We are living through an era of cycling greats. 20 of the last 40 TdFs have been won by just four riders, all of whom have done the Tour/Giro double; Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Armstrong. All of these have their supporters claiming ‘greatest ever’.
Anquetil did it all first.
He was the greatest time triallist in history, bar none. He won the GP des Nations nine times, six in a row 1953/58 We can be sure that if there were a world’s TT championship he would have been favourite from 1953 to 1967 at least, and it’s hard to see anyone who could have beaten him..
He took eight major tour wins to Coppi’s seven and was the first to win all three major tours. He won five TdFs when the previous maximum was three. In 1961-64 he dominated in a way that even Lance has not. He took yellow on the first day and kept it, having announced in January that he would. He did the Giro/Tour double in ’64, thought to be impossible to repeat (only the legend Coppi had ever done it). He didn’t start in 1965 only because his prestige could not be enhanced by another win. He did the Dauphine Libere/Bordeaux-Paris double instead. He won Paris-Nice five times.
He was the first modern cyclist.
He redefined position on the bike; the standard then was low saddle, heels kept low throughout the pedal stroke, and relatively shallow forward lean. Jacques had the saddle high and bars low, the first rider to make his back flat. He had a much higher saddle because he pioneered the raised-heel style now universal. Although much copied his action was in fact unique; try it yourself. On the turbo, raise your heels until your feet are locked in a toes-down stance. Now pedal the full revolution that way. It’s very odd! Now, don’t just push but pull hard on the pedals’ up-stroke; you’ll see it adds great power to it. Then the pain starts. He rode that way all the time.
He pioneered high gears
His cadence was always 88-92, now well known as the perfect TT rhythm - which he used all the time. Even his hour attempt in ’67 was on 52x13 for 92rpm Chris Boardman used only 56x13 to go 9km further!