Greatest Sprinters Never to Win Green Jersey

Corporate Ascents
Corporate Ascents Posts: 56
edited July 2010 in Pro race
With Cav winning his 12th stage he is up there with the greats of sprinting at a young age. But he is up against it if he is to win green this year and needs more wins and good fortune. The Green Jesey Comp seems to be set-up for good sprinters and all rounders rather than out and out sprinters - like Cav.

Who was the greatest sprinter to never win it - Cipo gets my vote any others?
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Comments

  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Petacchi hasn't won it either.

    I think Petacchi and Cipo have concentrated more on the Giro though,
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  • crimsondynamo
    crimsondynamo Posts: 246
    They used to say that cycling an entire grand tour over the mountains had a long term sapping effect on sprinters' explosiveness (trading off for endurance I imagine), which is why in the past they quit after teh first week.

    Cav seems to be one for staying the course though, so if the above is true then I'd imagine that as he gets older his stage wins per tour will diminish but his capacity for top 5s and intermediates will improve. Thor's solo escape last year in the mountains to hoover up the intermediates is maybe an illustration of what's required to bag the jersey.
  • Brindy
    Brindy Posts: 45
    I would say his abilty to win stages will go down, he is not doing bad already got 2 this year and still at least 4 bunch sprints left......

    What he needs to work on is his climbing so he can finish in the front group of some of tougher stages
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,821
    Jaan Kirsipuu was a decent sprinter who could never get over the mountains thus never won Green.

    All the "greats" of sprinting (bar Petacchi + Cipo) have won the green really as it's the pinnacle of the sport, so if you want to be considered great you have to win green
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    You could go back to the old days and say Jan Raas, or the really old days and say Rik van Steenbergen, although both more more than merely sprinters and RvS never really bothered with the Tour much.
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  • cooper.michael1
    cooper.michael1 Posts: 1,787
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Jaan Kirsipuu was a decent sprinter who could never get over the mountains thus never won Green.

    All the "greats" of sprinting (bar Petacchi + Cipo) have won the green really as it's the pinnacle of the sport, so if you want to be considered great you have to win green

    Politics kept Cipollini out of le tour for many a year, in his best year 2002 for example the ASO did not invite his team, basically he wound them up.

    As an Italian the giro and his 43 stage victories in that were probably more important. To be regarded as a great sprinter you dont need to win a green jersey.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Kenny Van Hummel.
  • OffTheBackAdam
    OffTheBackAdam Posts: 1,869
    Hmm, I reckon that Sean Kelly is sufficient to shoot down this hypothesis!
    Add in Freddy Maertins and it's really dead & buried!
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Cippo obviously.


    He never wanted it though.
    _
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,821
    OffTheBackAdam wrote:
    Add in Freddy Maertins and it's really dead & buried!

    I think we established the other day that Freddy isn't JUST a sprinter lol
  • Dgh
    Dgh Posts: 180
    Miguel Poblet?
  • Robstar24
    Robstar24 Posts: 173
    Wilfried Nelissen, he was able to beat cipollini in the 1993 tour at cipo's peak. had it not been for a series of horrendous crashes nelissen might well have won green several times. he was only 26 when he had the crash that pretty much ended his career at ghent-wevelgem, when he lost a litre of blood.

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