Favourite Pro cyclist?

leftism

Been watching some really old Paris Roubaix clips on youtube back when Sean Kelly was kicking a$$! A lot of the comments were full of praise for how tough he was and his amazing attitude and racing style. He seemed to be liked by so many fans around europe.

It got me thinking; who is your favourite pro cyclist of the more recent times (last 10 years). In picking a favourite i'm thinking more about personality, attitude, racing style etc.

My choice would be Jens Voigt. Main reason for my choice is i love his brave, aggressive (bordering on stupid) attacking style. He just loves breaking away and often will spend hours out in front of the peleton just to be hunted down in the last few km's. On top of this, his attitude is great. He seems a genuinely likeable and approachable guy who is always joking around and having fun. Makes a welcome break from some of the 'super serious' pro-riders in the peleton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WfD7lYkKqA

That clip shows how Jens seems like a genuinely cool guy!

Zipp101

There are several I admire (including Jens).

My favourite would have to be Phillippe Gilbert :His aggressive style is so pleasing to watch. Tactically he is a genius,always picks the right moment. Personality wise he's quiet but there's nothing wrong with that.

Others I like for various reasons:

Sylain Chavanal
Andrei Grivko
Frank Schleck
Andreas Kloden
Heinrich Haussler
Tommy Voeckler
Marcus Burghardt
Nicholas Roche
David Zabriskie

niceonetom

In the peloton these days...

The Irish, naturally.

Jens (obviously) hardly needs mentioning... there are lesser known riders I find myself looking out for though. I like Linus Gerdedmann because he won a great stage in tour a few years ago by climbing and descending alone, and he broke down in tears afterwards - then I saw him finish TT in something else (maybe adriatico?) with a broken leg, and more tears. Plus, who doesn't love a ginger german?

Fumiyuki Beppu, because he has a fantastic name and mad skillz.

I could watch Fabian Cancellara ride a bike for hours.

Which reminds me of the worlds; I really hope Evans has a good season. I've begun to find his oddness strangely compelling and I would bloody love to see him win a grand tour.

I like the two Feillu brothers too and I'll be watching out for them as well.

jwshooter

very much a armstrong fan ,if he had not retired and got sick how many grand tours might he have under his belt now.

maybe no more ,but last years TDF was possibly the most watched ever.

DirkVoodoo

Contador and Roche, because I know little about the sport.

RobFowl

jwshooter wrote: »

very much a armstrong fan ,if he had not retired and got sick how many grand tours might he have under his belt now.

maybe no more ,but last years TDF was possibly the most watched ever.

IMO Lance has a Giro or Vuelta in him but the Tour is beyond him at this stage.

I think it's a bit like Dr Who !

Your favourite cyclist depends on the era you grew up in.
Mine were always Kelly, Criquelion, Anderson, Joey McLoughlin and of course Mario.

These days I like Cavendish for his talent and attitude, Boonen in the classics, Sven Nys, Chris Newton, Russ Downing and Evans (especially for his first Giro and this years Vuelta and worlds).

Of course the Irish Probably split equally between Duignan, Roche and Martin for different reasons.

Looking forward to the next 10 years with Bennett, Downey, Lavery, Halpin, Buggle, McConvey and a few I've bound to have missed...

Signal_ rabbit

I have to admit to being another Lance fan, I like watching & respect wiggo for his honesty and sheer determination, both on the road and the track and enjoy watching Cav's sheer speed at the stage ends. A close runner up would be Marco Pantani purely for his hill climbing elegance.

jwshooter

most lightly not rob , no one gave him much chance of being on the podium in Paris last year also.

iv just finished reading, my come back up close and personal. it should be a interesting season

penexpers

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

A close runner up would be Marco Pantani purely for his hill climbing elegance.

I used to like Pantani until I read the book. He was a cheat and there's no two ways about it.

amjon

Paul Kimmage

penexpers

jwshooter wrote: »

very much a armstrong fan ,if he had not retired and got sick how many grand tours might he have under his belt now.

He would have many more TdFs but no other grand tours.

RobFowl

amjon wrote: »

Paul Kimmage

For his 6 th in the amateur worlds, milk race exploits, mulptiple domestic wins, 8th in the Nissan Classic 1988, TDF finish, Giro finish and all round honesty


Absolutely

RobFowl

jwshooter wrote: »

v,if he had not retired and got sick how many grand tours might he have under his belt now.

I think if he had not got sick he would have many classics and smaller stage race wins but less TDF's

Thats only my opinion though :rolleyes:

ednwireland

joop zoetemelk (watching ti raleigh on itv world of sport specials)
Bernard hinault (first tours i followed through the weekly magazines that came out)

malcolm elliot - watching him in the kellogs city centre race series in the late 80's

more recently cancellara,
loved watching ullrich grind up hills
pantani (despite everything)

Caroline_ie

just Jens :pac:

JacksonHeightsOwn

penexpers wrote: »

I used to like Pantani until I read the book. He was a cheat and there's no two ways about it.

im now your fan just for finishing that book!!! ive seen such small print in all my life

for me

seeing as im new to the peloton supporting

as a kid i was a Sean Kelly nut, and had his poster in my room

now, i like Sastre, Haussler, Armstrong,

Cancellera is amazing to watch, his time trialing is breath taking

of course i love watching good mountain attacks as well, that Brice Feilu lad came across well after his stage win in the tour, ill be following him a little intently next season

i like Roche as well i have to say, seems a nice honest lad, and id love for him or any of the other irish lads to win something really memorable in the future

Bikerbhoy

Malcolm Elliot

---

Legend

leftism

Man, totally forgot about Wiggo!

Yeah i'd be a big fan of Wiggins and hope he does something special next year with Sky (have my doubts though and think should have stuck with Garmin Slipstream for 2010).

Obviously i supported Deignan and Roche in the big tours last year. Goes without saying. But i'd literally support any irish in any sport. So much so that i found myself watching highlights of the Lumberjack world championships a couple weeks ago coz there was an irish guy who was doing really well in the wood chopping event.....

Chips Lovell

David Moncoutie, Philippe Gilbert, Thomas Voeckler.

Mr. Cheeze

My favourite would probably be Alberto Contador, as ye may know he has the nickname 'la pistola' because of his unstoppable sprints to the finish. Also he has a reputation as an 'all rounder', a cyclist whos good at all aspects of cycling so he entertains on most stages.

hinault

Kelly would have been my favourite in the 1980's.

1990's : Indurain, Jalabert, Pantani, Ullrich.

2000's : Ullrich, Cancellara, Voigt, Zabel, Michele Bartoli.



I raced against Kimmage when he was an amateur.
pauls a good guy.

ROK ON

As a kid. Kelly, Lemond, Robert Miller, Sean Yates.

Now not so much a fan type person but ended my first season watching bike races impressed by
Devolder
Martin at GdL.
Evans - would like to see him do well this year.
Gilbert - seems class.
DZ.
Russ Downing at TOI. Hope he gets to show off on a bigger stage.
Boassen Hagen.
Also impressed by Hausler, Farrar, Cavendish and Hushovd. How could I forget.

Looking at races this year I have been struck by how much I prefer the Classics ti the Grand Tours. So I will be watching those to see who impresses.

el tel

Of the modern day riders I've seen I'd have to chose from

Kelly for being proper hard
Zabel for always being there at the end, even after all those years
Cancellara for the power and grace
Pantani for the vertical speed.

blorg

ROK ON wrote: »

Russ Downing at TOI. Hope he gets to show off on a bigger stage.

He's with Sky now and will be racing in ProTour compeitions, starting with the Tour Down Under 19-24 January.

henboy

Kelly ,
Laurent Figion (spelling)
Elliot
Robert millar
Sean yeats
Pantini
Lemond
and any rider on that team ONCE
Armstrong

Beasty

Got to be Chris Boardman for me, more for what he achieved before he turned professional - he was the guy that kicked-off the Team-GB cycling revival, and remains integral to their track success.

Without him, I suspect there would have been much less lottery investment in GB cycling, and the likes of Queally, Hoy and Wiggins would probably have had much less support.

fondriest

This is first post in boards and fav rider is a good place to start.

Gerrans for picking the right break.
Ballan for the classics and Hincapie for brains.

petethedrummer

Greg Lemond and Cadel Evans for me.

ColSheehan

Jens Voight
Fabian Cancellara
Marco Pantani
Mark Cavendish
Lancie !

last but not least.. my favourite pro cyclist was Frank Vandenbroucke ! RIP

leftism

Didn't get a mention coz he probably isn't considered a modern day pro-rider in the strict sense of the word.

But Graham Obree has gotta be up there for me! Without a doubt the most inspirational sportsman and innovator i can think of.... I cannot recommend his book 'the flying scotsman' highly enough! He really is an inspiration. I mean breaking the hour record on a bike made of scrap metal and bits of a washing machine??? Absolute LEGEND!

(only thought of him when Boardman was mentioned. I rate Obree so much higher than Boardman because he seemed to be such an outsider and fought against the system his whole career, while Boardman was the darling of British cycling. Most of all because he completely rethought how the bike could possibly be ridden.)

sy

Apart from the obvious Kelly Roche & Early I was big fan of LeMond and in rough chronological order,
Phil Anderson
Moreno Argentin
Gianni Bugno,
Franco Ballereni,
Tony Rominger,
Laurent Jalabert,
Johan Museeuw,
Marco Pantani,
Michele Bartoli,
Frank Vandenbroucke,
Paolo Bettini, (sorry I could name another 10!)
And in todays peleton Gilbert, Pozzato, Haussler and Cancellara . I think Gilbert’s end of season wins, will spur him on to great things and I expect him to win 1 or 2 of the major Spring classics.
If I had to pick my favourite out of the lot (apart from Kelly) it would be Tony Rominger.

Muller_1

at the moment
Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt
All time
Indurain, Kelly, Roche,

papac

Last ten years.
Hushovd.-No bullsh1t-Does the job-Hard as nails.

Jens for president of the world though.

lukester

el tonto wrote: »

David Moncoutie, Philippe Gilbert, Thomas Voeckler.

My two favourites are in that list, Moncoutié and Voeckler.

kellyoncobbles

Obviously, Kelly is my top man. Mr. Roche too. Then you had other no nonsense hardmen of the era like Hinault, Vanderaerden, Phil Anderson, Sean Yates. I think Allan Peiper was great rider in his day. The ultimate super-domestique.
I dont think anyone mentioned Jean Paul van Poppel - what a finisher.

My faves of the last ten -
Contador
Cancellara (or Cancerella, as he was known on RTE Sport broadcasts)
Voight
Boonen - lets leave the coke jibes - you cant deny the talent
Valverde
George Hincapie for his service. Should have won more.

I have to think a bit after that...I suppose Evans. Quiet man, gets on with it. Was delighted with his Worlds win.

TinyExplosions

There's quite a few for me... in no particular order

Jens
Hincapie
Brice Feilleu (sp?)
Cavendish -like his attitude... I know it's not for some, but I like him
Cancellara
Gilbert
Haussler
The Schlecks (can't have one without the other!)

Probably a few others, but they're the main ones

petethedrummer

leftism wrote: »

But Graham Obree has gotta be up there for me! Without a doubt the most inspirational sportsman and innovator i can think of....

I agree, the only reason I didn't already mention him is that I only really learned about him recently. I new the name when he was knocking about but I didn't know the whole story at the time. The man's a legend.

ednwireland

leftism wrote: »

But Graham Obree has gotta be up there for me! Without a doubt the most inspirational sportsman and innovator i can think of.... I cannot recommend his book 'the flying scotsman' highly enough! He really is an inspiration. I mean breaking the hour record on a bike made of scrap metal and bits of a washing machine??? Absolute LEGEND!

ahh obree totally forgot, he's in the list, wish i'd kept some of the cycling weekly's from those days

IM0

Armstrong - in the early years
Ullrich - taking a hosing from armstrong for so long, but very admirable bridesmaid in the 'lance years'
Virenque - never say die 'out the back of the GC group yoyo' climber
Millar - his honesty and insight into the sport in bleak but realistic terms
Voigt - great attitude and the dr Jeykl/mr hyde of the peloton
Heras - such a good domestique climber singlehandedly ushered the yellow jersey onto lance's shoulders, softening up the group with rediculous turns of speed on the mountain top finishes in the GC key stages.

kincsem

Eddy Merckx of course, but in the last ten years Oscar Pereiro Sio.

irishpeloton

fondriest wrote: »

Gerrans for picking the right break.
Ballan for the classics and Hincapie for brains.

Not Maurizio Fondriest no?

For me it's Fabian Cancellara and Phillipe Gilbert simply due to the scope of races the pair of them are capable of challenging in.

Johnny Hoogerland was also great to watch in the Vuelta last year.

manafana

Some my favourites would be:

Cadel Evans - Ultimate competitor and great all rounder, who deserves every bit of success he has had, and alot nicer guy than people make out.

George Hincapie - Who doesnt like George a workhorse and a key part of lance's sucess in the past.

Boassen Hagen - A few years back i liked valverde and thought highly of him, but now its got be boassen hagen this guy can ride and cant wait to see him in action.

Bradley Wiggins - He might be british but that guy showed how mentally hthough he was last year, moving from garmin might be a poor move though.

Sean Kelly - The carrick - clonmel TT on his normaly setup bike beating Roche stands out, the story behind it and fact he got up from sprinting and made himself into a decent all rounder.

In french riders, havnt really being made about anyone since Virenque that guy could ride all day. But the feillu's are interesting.

iregk

Of all time Kelly, Roche, Ullrich & Super Mario.

Recently, Stuart O'Grady, Allesandro Petacchi, Tyler Hamilton, Andres Cloden & Andy Schleck.

Bradley Wiggins is growing on me as well i have to say.

sy

irishpeloton wrote: »

Not Maurizio Fondriest no? ...
.

Maurizio was a classy rider especially his attacks on the Poggio at Milan San Remo.

Think Gilbert will have a great season now he has the confidence to exploit his undoubted talent. Kelly won Lombardy in 1983 at similar age to Gilbert, his first major classic and then went on to dominate the sport. Gilbert is similar type cyclist(not just that good!) so we may be seeing the beginning of a great champion?

tfrancer

Of all time: Sean Kelly

At present: Cadel Evans, Cancellara and Cavendish

Dura Ace

Christophe Bassons

bcmf

Boonen.
He trains.
He eats cobbles.
He goes on the piss.

Dave11

Relatively new to this sport but taken in by it and kinda getting obsessed (according to the missus :rolleyes:) but in the bit I have seen some names of caught my attention more then others:

Fabian Cancellara
George Hincapie
Jack Bobridge-unreal!!!
Mr Roche

If ya don't agree go easy on me!!! i'm new and learning!!

petethedrummer

Dura Ace wrote: »

Christophe Bassons

Hell Yes. I'm reading his autobiography atm. I'm still on page 1. I don't read French too good.

Signal_ rabbit

bcmf wrote: »

Boonen.
He trains.
He eats cobbles.
He goes on the piss.

And is partial to the odd line of 'Charlie'