Who is greatest cyclist of all time

What gives Coppi the edge over some of the others on this list, though, was his well-roundedness, having won the World Road Championships, Paris Roubaix, Milan-San Remo three times and the Tour of Lombardy five times for a total of nine victories in the one-day Classics.

In the history of the sport, there are clearly only two cyclists able to top these kind of career stats. Hinault was also the only rider besides Merckx to win the green, polka dot and yellow jerseys points, mountains and overall classifications in the Tour de France and was the World Road Race Champion in Photo Credit: Iban. For 10 years, Merckx dominated professional cycling like few athletes have in the history of sport. Of his record victories as a professional, here are a few of his most notable achievements:.

Marc is a freelance writer based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is the former cycling editor for Active. This, of course, requires some heartfelt apologies to Mark Cavendish and Mario Cipollini, who are undoubtedly great in their respective disciplines but lack the overall prowess to compete in road races with even the slightest elevation gain. In the end, some are better at pedaling than others. Below is a list of the most powerful legs to have ever pedaled up and down the toughest ascents in Europe, sprinted to the finish despite fiery pain in their thighs, and claimed victory in races designed to be impossible.

These are the baddest brutes to have ever graced concrete on two wheels. Note: Some of these dudes totally doped. While such wrongdoing certainly merits a strike or two against them, we can also shrug our shoulders and say the playing field was level. We did consider doping allegations and admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs when compiling this list, but we doubt the USADA will grant us any sense of approval. The fifth of six men who have claimed GC victories at all three Grand Tours, Contador grabbed our imagination in the post-Lance cycling world.

Stripping the reins from Levi Leipheimer on the then Discovery Channel Team, Contador was, at one point, the defending champion of all three Grand Tours. Like many on this list, he's endured an onslaught of doping allegations, which saw the World Cycling Federation strip Contador of two Grand Tour wins— but cycling fans will never forget his graceful side-to-side "dance" up the toughest climbs in Europe. Kelly's success in the Classics never translated to Grand Tour victories, but boy did this Irishman have a lot of success in the Classics.

Kelly claimed 10 Classics victories, triumphed seven times in the illustrious Paris-Nice—a record no one will ever top—and won cycling's first World Cup. Despite his lack of yellow or pink jerseys, Kelly did win the general classification in the Vuelta and won the Tour de France's points classification four times. Arguably the greatest all-around cyclist of all time, anyone who faced this beast in the s wouldn't argue otherwise. A three-time winner of the Giro and two-time winner of the Tour, one can only wonder how many more victories Bartali would have claimed if not for his rival and fellow countryman, Fausto Coppi, or the forced hiatus brought about by World War II.

Nonetheless, Bartali succeeded despite such misfortune. In addition to his Grand Tour success, Bartali won 24 Classics and four additional stage races. His two Tour de France victories came 10 years apart and, as one of the greatest climbers of all time, he won six consecutive mountains classifications at the Giro.

Yes, we took into account the doping and the cheating and just generally being a jerk, but there was no way we were skipping Armstrong. He'd easily crack the top five, otherwise, but seven feels like a good spot for a man with seven straight Tour de France GC victories ahem, feel free to strike that.

You can claim he struggled in the other Grand Tour events, but that would ignore the fact that he never competed in the other events. Armstrong was all about the coveted yellow jersey, which he donned more than any other man in history. His battles with the great Jan Ullrich, the stare up Alpe d'Huez, and his comeback after his handlebar got caught in a knapsack all go down as some of the greatest cycling moments of all time.

You can strip him of his titles, but we all remember what happened. Somehow, this five-time winner of the Giro d'Italia and three-time road world champion gets routinely overlooked by your typical "Greatest of" lists. But there's no mistaking the greatness of Alfredo Binda. He was found guilty of doping in , but still undeniably one of the greatest ever cyclists. Louison Bobet French cyclist. Any comments, suggestions or corrections?

Please let us know. Search This Site. PAGES home search sitemap store. Take probably the greatest climber of all time, mix in a tragic end by alcohol and cocaine abuse, add police investigations, throw in rumours of mafia-related interference, and you have one of the most compelling stories in sport. One of the rock stars of his era, his attacking style and risk-everything approach is unlikely to be replicated, much like his achievements. The youngest rider ever to win the Spanish amateur national road championships, he would go on to be the only cyclist ever to win five Tours de France consecutively Armstrong aside.

Tests by the University of Ferrara found his resting heart beat was 28 BPM — less than one beat every two seconds; his lung capacity was 7. Image courtest of Wikicommons by user Bontemps. In a sport marked by exceptional toughness, it takes something truly special to standout as one of its toughest. During his career from to , King Kelly won nine monument classics and professional races while becoming known as a rider in possession of true grit. A true all-rounder and an exceptional talent, Kelly easily deserves his place in the top ten.

Image courtest of Wikicommons by user Wielerpro. In fact, her list of achievements is so long it has its own dedicated Wikipedia page. Not only has she dominated on the road, but her victories in cyclo-cross, track, and mountain bike set her apart as an exceptional talent. But it was the sight of him running up Month Ventoux in the yellow jersey in that will stay in the minds of many when they hear his name.