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This article is Paywalled locked up as tight as can be, even when I login they won't let me see it without going for a full subscription. And the usual places like the Internet Archive don't have it.
He can't be in the running if even one person on this board doesn't know who he is already.
I would not want to fall in the USA-centric mental trap of thinking Pro cyclists aren't/weren't huge just cause we live in the US. Some of these famous European cyclists were at a ridiculous level of fame in Europe.
I think all these guys like Mercx, Wiggins, Armstrong, whatever.. they have/had far more star power than we think in the countries that really value(d) cycling.
And if you want to say "In the US" I bet you can make a very strong case that no American cyclist has out-achieved Major Taylor if you are talking fame in the US from results that happened in the US. Armstrong would have been in the running until most of his results were negated. But even if his results hadn't been negated how on earth do you compare the two of them when they were 100 years apart and lived/raced in completely different worlds?
If you want to make an argument that a BMX rider could possibly be the biggest/most famous US cycling star I think you'd have to find someone with some sort of competition results as opposed to influencer status/fashion collaborations. Maybe not doing X-games, Olympics, National Championships, etc.. is in the true spirit of BMX but there are surely other BMXers who would be in the running. I think you'd want BMX riders and fans to pick.
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