Who is the greatest rider of all-time

Who was the twat who started this thread? Everyone already knows the answer to the question, i.e. Big Eddy.......and he's even bigger these days. Ker-ist have you seen the size of him lately?

 

i'm quite surprised everyone thinks that merckx would kick ass on a modern bike. and that's because no one thought about the physical shape of the cyclers those days. i tell you, you may be very surprised to see a best-shaped merks pulling off on a today's tour de france. physical condition in sports changhes a lot over time. what i mean, mercks was great for his time. if you would to bring him from those days to the 2003 tdf, i think he would have a lot of cathing up to do.

 

This is so wide of the mark as to be a troll.

Merckx career overlapped Felice Gimondi, a great champion, almost exactly. He made it look like no competition because he was so much better.

Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil, Coppi, Indurain are the true greats, Giro and Tour in the same year. All bar Indurain and perhaps Anquetil, the first modern rider, rode full seasons as well.

Lance might win stuff if he bothered, and we'll never know. Those boys DID it. But Lance is still a very great rider indeed, of course.

Luck has always paid a huge part in the Tour, and a winner must have his share. With Leipheimer and Beloki out and Hamilton compromised, Lance had his share this year.

Interesting that no mention has been made of Jennie Longo or Beryl Burton. Beryl, for instance, was England's Best All Rounder for 26 consecutive years.

 

Comparing cyclists across eras is probably moot. It's difficult to say, what if Merckx were to race today…

The important factor to consider is what a cyclist was able to accomplish against his peers, because modern training methods and cycling technology available to Lance are for the most part available to any other rider today and the training methods and technology that Merckx used were available to his contemporaries.

With that said, you can’t argue Merckx’s accomplishments on the bike:

· 445 professional victories
· Only cyclist to win the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour of Switzerland
· One of only two cyclists to achieve the Triple Crown of cycling (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and world championship in same year)
· One of two cyclists to take the Tour de France and the hour record in the same year
· In 1969, Merckx won all three major classifications (overall, points, and King of the Mountains) of the Tour de France.
· World Road Race Champion 4 times (1 as Amateur)
· Super Prestige Pernod Winner 7 times in succession 1969-75 (record)
· Tour de France Winner 5 times (joint record with Anquetil, Hinault, Indurain, and Armstrong)
· Giro d' Italia Winner 5 times (joint record with Binda and Coppi)
· Milano-San Remo Winner 7 times (record)

 

Considering that they wanted to outlaw him because, as the saying went "If he enters, he wins," Merckx hands down. No contest.

 

Why is Ned Overend not on the list ? Because he rides mountain bikes ? How many road cyclists have such a long consistent record ? If you want people to vote on the best road cyclist of all time you should say so, otherwise include MTBers, downhillers, BMXers etc.

 

Hello, how ya doing boy. Talking to an ex bay boy here. Getting ready for storm???

Memph

 

This is the road racing thread, so I guess it went without saying.

Indeed it would hardly be reasonable; I've never heard of Mr Overend. No disrepect; I only don't follow mountain biking (similarly triathlon) because it's too hard.

 

This is not a no brainer and we'll never know. Two completely different eras. I would put Merckx and LA in the top 2. Both won by putting the hammer down as opposed to say Indurain who dominated time trials and then hung on in the mountains. I never saw Eddie M race (before my time) unfortunately. Also, people have to remember that Eddie raced in a time when many professional cyclists weren't training all year round and racers would ride into shape during the season. They often had full time jobs and raced on the weekends. He dominated in his era but I am quite sure that he would not be winning the Giro and TDF in the same year if he raced today. Also, I'd love to see the average speeds of the grand tours he raced. Not saying LA is better but there are to many factors to say definitively that Merckx was/is better. Just MO.

 

Why does it matter? Enjoy the sport, it's power and beauty. If you are a Meryx fan, that is fine. Cycling has changed. Appreciate it for what it is now with the new technology, training and tactics.

 

Ever heard of Major Taylor???

He's my hero. If you havn't heard of him, you need to get the lowdown. A bike racing maniac and hero of a bygone and thankfully left behind era of prejudice against people of color.

pbiker

 

shouldnt we wait until Lance retires until this evaluation/comparison is made?

I just learned of Major Taylor in the current Bicycling magazine, interesting story

 

We used to live in Clintonville, WI. Its up Hwy 45 north of Oshkosh and about forty miles west of Green Bay. Where is Black River Falls?

pbiker

 

I will concede that the current Tour peloton is probably stronger than anything Merckx faced, and that during the Tour, Armstrong is probably stronger than Merckx, but Armstrong does not dominate the road season like Merckx did. That has probably has more to do with the business of sponsorship and the state of the art in exercise physiology than anything else. Thirty yeas ago, the Tour was about 4-5 kph slower, 400-500 km longer, the bikes 4-5 lbs heavier, they didn't use all of that aero stuff, and the trainers didn't half half of the data about physiology and biomechanics we now have.

The financial goals of the sponsors were a lot different, then, too. To pay someone a half-million dollars a year to dominate 3 weeks of racing was unheard of, then, and I doubt that most European sponsors would still consider that a good investment. On the other hand, three weeks is about the extent of the US attention span to pro cycling, and that suits USPS and Subaru USA just fine.

 

probably 60km in one hour in Mexico !!!!

He was victorious in every mounth of the year, who did the same ?

 

That says it for me, Vanderminnen.

 

merckx.
If he wanted to win, he won.
If he wanted the opposition to suffer, he made them suffer.
He had total control of the peleton.

 

It's just a matter of time. Wait until Lance wins the TDF 2004, 05, then say it's Eddie.

 

Like that is going to happen......

Memph

 

It would still be Eddie.

Lance is one of the greatest athletes (not just cyclist) ever. But his palmares can never match some from the past (Eddie, Hinault, Coppi and more) because those champions did not concentrate in the way some modern riders do. This isn't better or worse, just different.