Who is your favorite cyclist and why?

[MattTuck]

Dan Martin. He has twins too.

[-holiday76]

Poppi.

[colker]

John Tomac.
For his bike handling skills, speed, consistency and playing in almost all cycling categories: mtb xc, downhill, bmx, cat1 pro road racing..
A legend.

[colker]

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?

Btw.. i like your choices.

[baldbones]

Sven Nys

Because

[echappist]

Originally Posted by 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.

or rather, appearing to suffer only when the camera is there. Cunning rider

also, don't forget this

[BobbyJones]

Dupe post.

[BobbyJones]

Dave Stohler.

Just because.

[jmoore]

Jan Ullrich

[donevwil]

My wife.

She continues to do things I either could, or would, never do. Commuting 20 miles each way to work on a major thoroughfare starting at 6:30am and home by 7:30pm year 'round. She's ridden RAMROD, the Death Ride and STP multiple times, has ridden about 20 MS rides raising tens of thousands for the cause. All this while suffering from MS herself.

[marciero]

Am I allowed to post twice??

I'll throw out

Tinker Juarez
Ned Overend

because they are badass old guys.

[prototoast]

Not a pro, but Jobst Brandt. The combination of strength as a rider, sense of adventure, and mechanical expertise/ingenuity really captures for me what I get out of the sport.

Wish I had gotten the chance to meet/ride with him when he was alive.

[JStonebarger]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Not a pro, but Jobst Brandt. The combination of strength as a rider, sense of adventure, and mechanical expertise/ingenuity really captures for me what I get out of the sport.

Wish I had gotten the chance to meet/ride with him when he was alive.

I never got to meet Jobst either, but I did get schooled by him online a few times. I miss Jobst and Sheldon Brown both.

[dancinkozmo]

favourite cyclist ?

this guy....

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by jmoore

Jan Ullrich

+1

Not because I am German but because I can relate to his constant fight keeping his weight down