In my opinion, this is the most impressive rider so far on this list. Firmin Lambot occupies a peculiar timeframe in the history of cycling. He started riding before the First World War, with good results. He was one of the few riders (Philippe Thys was another one) that not only survived the war, but…
Category: Greatest Cyclists of All Time
Walter Godefroot – Greatest Cyclists – No. 85
Not many riders can claim that they frustrated Eddy Merckx during their careers. Walter Godefroot is one of the few that can make this claim. He won the 1965 Belgian championship, 1967 Liége Bastogne Liége and 1969 Paris-Roubaix in front of Merckx. Certainly, more than the average rider can claim to have taken from him….
Lucien Petit-Breton – Greatest Cyclists – No. 86
Lucien Petit-Breton was the first man to win the Tour twice, and in consecutive years – 1907 and 1908. At a time when just completing the Tour was a challenge, winning it twice in row was an incredible achievement. He is also the winner of the inaugural Milano Sanremo in 1907 and the first foreign…
Johan Museeuw – Greatest Cyclists – No. 87
Johan Museeuw wore a lot of different skins throughout his career. He started out as a domestique for Greg Lemond, then won in the Tour as a sprinter, all before becoming one of the finest classics’ riders of all time. Museeuw won the Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders three times each, and became…
Óscar Freire – Greatest Cyclists – No. 88
Óscar Freire is the most successful rider in the history of the World Championships. Alfredo Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen also have an argument but the fact that he did in the highly competitive landscape of the early 2000s, makes Freire the cream of the crop in this race. In addition to this, he is…
Vittorio Adorni – Greatest Cyclists – No. 89
Vittorio Adorni is a Giro winner and a world champion. This accolades alone are for sure enough to put somebody in the discussion of the best ever. Toss in ten top-10s in the general classifications (GC) of Grand Tours (GT), 11 stage wins in the Giro, a national championship, and several other important victories, and…
Miguel Poblet – Greatest Cyclists – No. 90
A mould-breaker. That was Miguel Poblet. At a time when Spain only produced climbers, he was an exceptional sprinter. Federico Bahamontes, the first Spanish Tour winner and contemporary of Poblet, is quoted as saying: “I was the best climber and he was the best sprinter”. He won 26 stages in Grand Tours (GT), with 20…
Octave Lapize – Greatest Cyclists – No. 91
How is it possible for Octave Lapize, a rider from the 1910s to make the cut? By winning a whole lot of the small number of races he could ride in. Now, sure, his competition was also smaller. Nevertheless, I believe that the dominance he showed in the 1910s is deserving of recognition. Especially when…