Your Favourite Riders....

redddraggon

It's a slow day so I thought I'd start which might start a bit of flaming, but it's all a bit of a laugh. So who is your favourite (of the last couple of decades, I can't really comment on before that):

GT Winner:
TTer:
Classics rider:
Sprinter:
Climber:
Domestique (unsung hero?):

Obviously some will go into multiple catorgies. There is only one wrong answer and that is Lance Armstrong

For me....

GT Winner: DDL
TTer: Cancellara
Classic winner: Cancellara
Sprinter: Cipo
Climber: Sammy Sanchez (but more because of his descending than climbing :?) quite liked Ricco's style even though he was superpowered
Domestique (?): George Hincapie

disgruntledgoat

Grand Tour Winner: Gilberto Simoni. Panache, aggressive and always quotable.

TTer: Jan Ullrich. I always had a soft spot for Der Kaiser, and this would be the category he fits in best for me!

Classic Winner: Jackie Durand: "I don't mind not winning, i mind not trying"

Sprinter: Is there any competition? Mario Cippolini.

Climber: Marco Pantani

Domestique: The Hulse.

pb21

I'll bite.

GT Winner: Lance Armstrong
TTer: Jan Ullrich
Classic winner: Philipe Gilbert, but he hasn’t won a ‘real’ classic, so Tom Boonen
Sprinter: Mark Cavendish I suppose, not a big fan of the sprints
Climber: Alberto Contador
Domestique (?): Jens Voight or David Moncoutie

Anonymous

GT Winner - Ullrich, he's ace!

TT - Boardman, still has the fastest ever TdF prologue time.

Classics winner - Kelly (that descent of the poggio to catch Argentin was tops)

Sprinter - Cipollini, love his brash, OTT style.

Climber - Robert Millar, well, he's British!

Domestique - Jens Voigt.

greeny12

I'll have a go,,,

GT winner: Laurent Fignon

TTer: Chris Boardman

Classic winner: Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle (can't knock back-to-back Paris Roubaix wins)

Sprinter: Cav

Climber: Robert Millar

Domestique: Sean Yates

Anonymous

I nearly picked G D-L for classics but more because I think his name is cool...

Gazzaputt

GT Winner: Lance Armstrong
TTer: Bradley Wiggins
Classics rider: Cunago
Sprinter:Mark Cavendish
Climber: Carlos Sastre
Domestique (unsung hero?): Charlie Wegelius

greasedscotsman

GT Winner: Miguel Indurain
TTer: Chris Boardman
Classic winner: Andrea Tafi
Sprinter: Robbie McEwen
Climber: Marco Pantani
Domestique: Sean Yates (just for calling Lance Armstrong "boy" at a Motorola training camp...)

redddraggon

Gazzaputt wrote:

GT Winner: Lance Armstrong

FAIL

Wrong answer

timoid.

GT Winner: Lemond
TTer: Indurain*
Classic winner: Museeuw*
Sprinter: Abdujaparov*
Climber: Heras* in full flow
Domestique: Mazoleni* was my favourite in his Saeco days

teagar

GT Winner: Ullrich.
TTer:Ullrich
Classics rider: Tom Boonen, (though I have a real soft spot for Boogerd, could always spot his teeth shining away)
Sprinter: Tom Boonen
Climber:Pantani
Domestique (unsung hero?): BRAM TANKINK, what a legend.

eh

Taking all riders as I watched them rather than in hindsight:

GT Winner: Riis
TTer: David Miilar
Classic winner: Museeuw or Michele Bartoli
Sprinter: Abdujaparov
Climber: Pantani
Domestique: Tafi

greasedscotsman

redddraggon wrote:

Gazzaputt wrote:

GT Winner: Lance Armstrong

FAIL

Wrong answer

Is the correct answer Lance for all catagories? Not sure if he's a sprinter, but we've now seen him on water bottle duties at the Giro, that makes him a domestique, right?

takethehighroad

GT Winner: Contador, just for the three in a year and a bit
TTer:David Millar has the smoothest style on the bike, he looks as though he is going effortlessly fast
Classics rider:I can't see past Tom Boonen, although Bettini put in some good performances
Sprinter:Il Re Leone himself, the first sprinter I ever loved. Four in a row in '99, astonishing
Climber:Pantani, for all his flaws, just the way he went up hills. The '98 Tour to Les Deux Alpes sticks long in the memory, and is the reason climbers don't often win in this day and age (Chicken apart) because they're too afraid to gamble and just hide behind their teams.
Domestique (unsung hero?):Too many to mention, but The Hulse is the definition of thr word professional. He accepts that the team is more liekly to win if he helps Boonen than if he has a go himself

FJS

GT Winner: Laurent Fignon
TTer: Thomas Wegmuller
Classics rider: Edwig van Hooijdonck
Sprinter:Abdujaparov
Climber:everything considered, Marco Pantani
Domestique (unsung hero?): Marc Wauters

bobtbuilder

GT Winner: Bernard Hinault - The most bloody-minded man in cycling history?
TTer: Indurain
Classics rider: Museeuw (if I can't have Merckx)
Sprinter: Cipo
Climber: Pantani
Domestique (unsung hero?): Hincapie

volvine

GT Winner: Lance Armstrong
TTer: Vladimir Karpets
Classic winner: Tom Boonen
Sprinter: Mark Cavendish/Robbie McEwen
Climber: Lance Armstrong/Albero Contador/Carlos Sastre
Domestique: Jens Voigt/George Hincapi

all the above would make a superb team lol :?

micron

GT winner: Bernard Hinault
TTer: Miguel Indurain
Classic winner: Sean Kelly
Sprinter: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Climber: Lucien Van Impe
Domestique: Ludo Dierckxsens

GemmaAtkinson1

GT Winner: not sure about this one. theres the amount of gt wins and then theres classyness in execution. Sastre for the latter.
TTer: Wiggo/big mig
Classic winner: museeuw/boonen
Sprinter: Cav/Cipo
Climber: pantani
Domestique: Jens Voigt

FOAD

Looks like we need another thread on who is your favourite non-doper in each category.

disgruntledgoat

I was so close to picking Hinault over Simoni. For grit, determination and style nobody in the modern era beats le blaireau.

piet_eastsea

Aha bored and new here (though i've been lurking for a year) so by way of introductionlets pretend it's the end of the year already

excluded: Merckx, Hinault (LBL 1980!)and the old guys.

tt: Indurain Cancellara
cl: Johan van de Velde Gesink
spr: Guido Bontempi, Cav
classic: Hennie Kuyper(I'm too young to choose Roger De Vlaeminck)Freire
dom Cees Priem Maarten Tjallingi
disappointments: Breukink, Mottet, Eric Heiden, Alexei Grewal, Robert Millar, Thomas Dekker

NB: note that all of them, except some of my recent idols, have been caught cheating. And now I am not excluding Merkcx, Hinault, and the old guys.

de groeten(i'm dutch, you probl. could have guessed)

don key

Gt winner: Leg Gremond/ Refan Stoche/ Faurent Lignon

TTer: Frango(just for those awful feelings of defeat he transmitted live to the World)

Classics: Pukeless my Pal

Sprinter: Johnny Kelly

Climber: Tanpani / Bob Mlls sir

Domesticity: Yawns Shate(in a Belfast accent)

AO1504

Wanted to keep it a different person for each category so -

GT winner: Lance Armstrong
TTer: Millar or Boardman (can't decide)
Classic winner: Magnus Backstedt
Sprinter: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Climber: Claudio Chiappucci
Domestique: George Hincapie

Anonymous

AO1054 - the fact that the only time Millar won owt good he admitted to have taken EPO for should help you decide that one!

mididoctors

GT Winner:JaJa (he won the vuelta)
Tester:Boardman
Classics rider:Kelly
Sprinter:Abdu
Climber:Pantani
Domestique (unsung hero?Gerard Rue

AO1504

NapoleonD wrote:

AO1054 - the fact that the only time Millar won owt good he admitted to have taken EPO for should help you decide that one!

The thread is about your favourites and Millar has always been one of my favourites riders (one reason being there aren't many Scots in the pro arena). If I was going to use the criteria of those who have used EPO/drugs as a way of eliminating someone I wouldn't have put Chiappucci in but when I got into cycling in the late 80s and early 90s El Diablo just edged Robert Millar as my favourite along with Indurain & Armstrong.

markos1963

GT Merckx
TT Boardman
Classics Merckx
Sprinter Cavendish
Climber Pantani
Domest Andy Schleck

Richrd2205

AO1504 wrote:

The thread is about your favourites and Millar has always been one of my favourites riders (one reason being there aren't many Scots in the pro arena). If I was going to use the criteria of those who have used EPO/drugs as a way of eliminating someone I wouldn't have put Chiappucci in but when I got into cycling in the late 80s and early 90s El Diablo just edged Robert Millar as my favourite along with Indurain & Armstrong.

But you miss the point that David Millar hasn't really won anything important since the EPO stuff. I love watching him ride, but he's not all that good, an OK domestique...
Robert Millar, however, was a stunning rider. Without any question the best Scots rider ever. Bloody impressive regardless of nationality...

My list:

GT winner: Coppi
Trialer: Cancellera
Classics: Cunego
Sprinter: Cavendish
Climber: Robert Millar
Domestique: David Millar (or Jens Voigt)

all show no go

GT Winner: Stephen Roche (1987 Tour/Giro double)
TTer: David Millar (a brilliant stylist on a bike)
Classics rider: Paulo Bettini ( Always aggressive)
Sprinter: Abdoujaporov (Quite simply a nutter)
Climber: Robert Millar (British bias, but what the hell)
Domestique (unsung hero?): Jens Voight (Always gives his all)

knedlicky

GT. Merckx (not old enough to know of his first few but by his last couple I was well aware of his supremacy). Hinault not far behind for me, though.

TT: Lemond (perhaps not the ultimate TT rider, but his Champs Elysee victory was so special and also it introduced new techniques)

Classic: Museeuw (De Vlaeminck was before my time but I imagine as impressive)

Spinter: Cipollini (the man had charm as well as nouse and character)

Climber: Virenque (doping or not, he was a good climber, partly because he understood tactics and was also an attacker. Van Impe, Herrera and Pantani were better climbers but didn’t ride with tactics and were sometimes too reticent until late on during a climb.)

Domestique: Bolts (did everything to help Ullrich)

The categories should also include Allrounder: definitely Jalabert, for others maybe Kelly

and ‘Combatative’: the likes of Dekker, Voigt, and my choice, Durand