Who is your favorite cyclist and why?

[XXtwindad]

The "why" part is much more interesting to me. The champions of a more recent vintage leave me cold. I don't doubt their athletic supremacy. They're just boring. Wiggins. Froome. Sagan is only interesting when contrasted with the rest of the field. Perhaps the money (relative to other eras), the doping and the sponsorships filtered out all the charisma from the sport. I'd have to go back to Pantani (ignoring the fabricated persona of Cipollini) to find an athlete truly compelling.

Here are mine. (In order)

1) Bartali. For who he was off the bike. The quote attributed to him says it all: "Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket."

2) Anquetil. He gave the finger to conventional thinking and mores. He might not have survived in today's anodyne era. And perhaps the #metoo movement would cast him in a different light. But if it weren't for Bartali's heroism, he'd be my favorite. Hard to imagine anyone in today's pro peleton answering a question on doping like this : "You'd have to be an imbecile or hypocrite to imagine that a professional cyclist who rides 235 days a year can hold himself together without stimulants."

3) Fignon. Seemed like he was cast right out of "Breaking Away," still the best cycling movie of all time. The "Professor" was the antithesis of a cycling hero. Ponytail and glasses. Contemplative and cantankerous. But that's why I liked him. He didn't package himself for mass consumption. In his autobiography, he summed up the zen I get from riding (with much less fanfare and under much less arduous conditions): “I put my hands on top of the bars and savored it all to the full. I was breathing deeply as I lived through my last seconds in bike racing, which I had thought would never end for me. This col was all mine and I didn’t want anyone to interlude.”

He was quoted as saying that the eras following his peak were characterized by robotic riders. With a few exceptions (Pantani again) I'd be inclined to agree.

Others?

[93KgBike]

I am my favorite cyclist; as long as there is no-one around to drop me. Then they are. Lately, my 8 year old has been going all the way up out of the saddle.
So, my 8 year old is my favorite cyclist.

Justin Williams (USA Road & Crit Champion) is a pretty exciting champion. I'm picking him because crit racing is really a great format for engaging communities in playing bikes. He is putting a lot of effort into proving that there are ways to race at the highest levels without getting sponsorships up front. He is also highlighting the fact that American road racing can still turn people out and excite remote viewers. Nothing like a night of food and racing in downtown...

Remco Evenepoel (EU U23 Champion) - Old school aggression in a rider this young bodes well for race fans as one-day wins attest...

Pantani

Merckx

[echappist]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

The "why" part is much more interesting to me. The champions of a more recent vintage leave me cold. I don't doubt their athletic supremacy. They're just boring. Wiggins. Froome. Sagan is only interesting when contrasted with the rest of the field. Perhaps the money (relative to other eras), the doping and the sponsorships filtered out all the charisma from the sport. I'd have to go back to Pantani (ignoring the fabricated persona of Cipollini) to find an athlete truly compelling.

Here are mine. (In order)

1) Bartali. For who he was off the bike. The quote attributed to him says it all: "Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket."

2) Anquetil. He gave the finger to conventional thinking and mores. He might not have survived in today's anodyne era. And perhaps the #metoo movement would cast him in a different light. But if it weren't for Bartali's heroism, he'd be my favorite. Hard to imagine anyone in today's pro peleton answering a question on doping like this : "You'd have to be an imbecile or hypocrite to imagine that a professional cyclist who rides 235 days a year can hold himself together without stimulants."

3) Fignon. Seemed like he was cast right out of "Breaking Away," still the best cycling movie of all time. The "Professor" was the antithesis of a cycling hero. Ponytail and glasses. Contemplative and cantankerous. But that's why I liked him. He didn't package himself for mass consumption. In his autobiography, he summed up the zen I get from riding (with much less fanfare and under much less arduous conditions): “I put my hands on top of the bars and savored it all to the full. I was breathing deeply as I lived through my last seconds in bike racing, which I had thought would never end for me. This col was all mine and I didn’t want anyone to interlude.”

He was quoted as saying that the eras following his peak were characterized by robotic riders. With a few exceptions (Pantani again) I'd be inclined to agree.

Others?

He's one of the very few sportspeople who is worthy of being called a hero. Gino the Saint indeed

Don't have favorites, but as for cyclists I like.

Boardman, who stepped aside from cycling when he realized that he had naturally low testosterone levels that would prevent him from recovering well in stage races. Of course, he was also racing against people like Mr. 60%, but that he quit showed character.

There's Gilles Delion, who won Lombardia at a young age in the early 90s but never became a household name. Showed a lot of promise, but once again decided to quit when he realized he'd have to get on O2 vector doping.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by 93KgBike

I am my favorite cyclist; as long as there is no-one around to drop me. Then they are. Lately, my 8 year old has been going all the way up out of the saddle.
So, my 8 year old is my favorite cyclist.

Justin Williams is a pretty exciting champion. I'm picking him because crit racing is really a great format for engaging communities in playing bikes. He is putting a lot of effort into proving that their are ways to race at the highest levels without getting sponsorships up front. He is also highlighting the fact that American road racing can still turn people out and excite remote viewers.

Pantani

Merckx

fify

[Lewis Moon]

Amy D. She represents a lot to me. Determination: She left the comfort of racing at home to join a high caliber European team in a foreign country. Inclusivity: She championed women's racing and her legacy lives on with the young athletes her namesake foundation supports. Heart: From what I've heard, coupled with her grit and determination was a genuinely sweet soul. That's why you've seen so many racers wearing her heart on their kit.
She also represents the objective danger that is out there and how quickly it can strike.
Call me superstitious but, whenever I'm going out to do a particularly hard ride, I put on my Amy D socks.

[FlashUNC]

Coppi. The answer is always Coppi.

For all he did during the war, Bartali was a right bastard to Coppi and a lot of others in the pro peloton.

[marciero]

I'll throw out a couple

Major Taylor-for all he endured with grace and dignity whilst being a true champion.

Pantani-For sheer operatic pathos- quintessentially Italian, flawed, tragic hero.

[ojingoh]

Three come to mind:

Lemond - 1985 TdF made me a cycling fan, and connected me to the larger world of cycling, and the role of innovation in cycling which is very much a motivation for me

Merckx - not a baron for nothing

Ben - my good friend who was a pro racer in the 90s here in the USA. He consistently out-orders me at pho joints

[cmg]

Thomas Voeckler, for always appearing to suffer when the cameras were there. But for his attacking style, for following a rider up the climb only to drop them on the descend. for coming alive with the yellow jersey.

[Red Tornado]

Roger DeVlaeminck - Excellent palmares and the guy just oozed "coolness" when he was a rider.

Steffen Wesemann - Good classics rider, good teammate, besides the one RvV win never quite hit the big time but always found myself rooting for him.

Johan Museeuw - Doping allegations aside, tough/gritty/typical Belgian hard man who came from a humble background. Amazing comeback from his PR knee injury and a dominant rider when on form. Like that he still is involved with cycling, at a recreational level, supports his son's cycling career and seems to still take care of himself.

Thor Hushovd - Another great rider who was a force to be reckoned with when in the zone. Could both sprint and ride classics well. Always seemed to be a genuinely nice, down-to-earth guy.

Fabian Cancellara - Like him because "he is the motor".

[genefruit]

Alexandera Houchin - Tour Divide two time champion, single speed this year while riding in Red Wing boots. Never quits - read her Dirty Kanza XL recap as an example - https://alexandherrastro.wordpress.c...irty-kanza-xl/

[C40_guy]

Favorite cyclist?

The cat 2 racer on my old racing/development team who put his hand on the small of my back and boosted me up a long hill.

My legs were shot. I guess his weren't!

[Idris Icabod]

Malcolm Elliott because I met him when I was a kid and he was the nicest guy ever. That is enough for me.

[JStonebarger]

MvdP, because nobody who has followed his career was really surprised by Amstel Gold 2019.

[Tickdoc]

Pantani

Merckx

Antequil

Coppi

Zabriskie

And that one guy with only one arm and one leg.

Those are my favs.