Who is the (Men's) Rider of the Decade?
As an adjunct to my other post about a decade retrospective, who is the Men's Road Rider of the decade?
Twitter: @RichN95
Who is the (Men's) Rider of the Decade? 67 votes
Fabian Cancellara
4%
3 votes
Alberto Contador
2%
2 votes
Chris Froome
55%
37 votes
Phillipe Gilbert
2%
2 votes
Marcel Kittel
0%
0 votes
Vincenzo Nibali
1%
1 vote
Peter Sagan
28%
19 votes
Alejandro Valverde
2%
2 votes
Greg van Avermaet
0%
0 votes
Mattieu van der Poel
1%
1 vote
0
Posts
Alternatively, his inclusion is just my little joke about the overhyping of young talents, which I am consistently against (see for example Evenepoel winning Belgian cyclist of the Year ahead of Gilbert's Roubaix win)
PR, RVV, all the greens, but mainly the three worlds. And the general consistency is remarkable - even in the one he hasn't won but should have, msr, his finishes since 2012 are 4-2-10-4-12-2-6-4.
Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.
Other riders have been impressive, Sagan's longevity is especially noteworthy, although the really big wins are lacking a bit, i.e. he's only won two monuments, but none of them define the era in the way Froome does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_Ranking#Rider_Rankings
15 GTs ridden, one DSQ, two DNFs, the lowest result in the 12 he finished is a single 4th place. He won 7 of them, and was the holder of all three at the same time. And his Giro win came from the most spectacular long range solo attack in decades.
There are only 7 riders who have beaten him in a GT he's finished this decade, and two of them were teammates.
Only four riders have won more TdFs than him, and they're all legends of the sport.
He's in joint 4th place for GT wins, with Contador, Indurain and Coppi alongside him. Only Merckx, Hinault and Anquetil have more.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
Five of Cancellara's monuments were this decade, but only two of Boonen's. Then add in Olympic and World Golds. Boonen would be a strong contender for the rider of the previous decade.
Four monument wins, but four different ones, plus the Worlds and plenty of other high quality wins, i.e. stages in all three GTs, Amstel Gold repeatedly, Fleche, etc., in this decade.
On the other hand I have no real argument that Froome is equally deserving having eclipsed every other GC rider within his generation. I suspect in a couple of decades we'll be talking about the current period as one of cycling's regular peaks.
He is to this decade what Bettini was for the previous decade. Only San Remo remains unconquered
On reflection I was wrong to exclude him. Very wrong.
Froome is second for me.
Sagan is amazing, but I feel he often left big wins on the table. Races where he had the legs, but didn't pull it off (MSR Ciolek win & MSR Alaphilippe win for example).
PTP Runner Up 2015
I'd say Cancellara is up there, and of course Sagan for being prolific, but allowing a few things also to slip though his fingers. He is definitely up there for scoring loads of second places when sometimes it was easier to get first?
Cannot get excited about GT riders, despite Froome's obvious dominance. As for Valverde, he's really truly the most consistent rider in the last decade across most parcours (though a bit lightweight for Roubaix).
Rich, dare I suggest an 'underappreciated' rider fo the decade poll?
- @ddraver
Probably....probably I think on a purely head over heart basis Sagan might go ahead of Gilbert though. Though not in my heart 🥰
- @ddraver
With Froome, again, if he's starting your GT, you gotta consider him as a favourite.
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo