Fave road rider

[JustKev]

too big to climb properly!

Nonsense! Train

Glad my sarcasm wasn't lost on you Russ!

CAn't help but admire Armstrongs achievements either - also used to like watching Pantani in the mountains.

 

[cchris2lou]

Hinault for me, he crosses between what i call the "old" wool to "modern" lycra eras and raced against great riders in both, those first copies of Winning Bicycle Racing Illustrated have a lot to answer for

oh, I'm another one who'll be cheering for David this summer, he's going OK in Paris Nice this week .

Good choice . I just love his win in the belgium classic where it was raining , snowing , wind etc... he was just so strong that day .

he was the last boss of the peloton , nobody attacked without his consent .

B****y earpieces are killing all the spectacle . ban them . :evil:

 

[Stick Legs]

Interesting that many of us have chosen riders from the same era, must be something about retrobikes key demographic.....

Also intersted that people are going to be cheering for Millar after his, ahem, extra curricular activites.

I agree that my enthusiasm for DM has been tainted by scandal but...

Drugs in cycling are a sad fact, Tom Simpson being the perfect example of how endemic and time honoured it is.
I do not want to re hash the endless did he didn't he debate.
Lemond, Merckx, Armstrong, Hinault, Fingnon. They all may or may not have doped. Their acheivment still stands. The sad thing is if no one doped then they probably would have won on their merits and not had to defend anything.
I think that there is nothing to be gained by hushing up EPO et all and making it a taboo subject.

David has paid his dues. He has the hardest task now ahead, to win and prove the critics wrong. I will be cheering him along at every stroke of the crank and I'm sure he will do well.

Another thing. The very sad suicides of some pro's in the '90's (RMO's Thierry Claveyrolat being one of the saddest) may or may not be attributable to guilt / low esteem over past doping, or worse, long term mental heath dammage caused by doping. No one is willing to mention this as it would destroy these rider's image in the history of the sport. This is a shame as if a link could be proven then it would make the case for doping even weaker.

In Cycle Sport magazine this month Tom Steels (I think) said that there was a new generation of riders coming up for whom to dope would be unthinkable. I hope he is right but I fear more 'revelations' until then.

Sorry to raise this subject but openenss it the only way to crack it.

 

[cchris2lou]

I agree with you .

I think younger riders are more sensitive to this issue .
One of my former team mate ( a 70s racer ) used to race with a serynge already in his leg , and he was pressing it only when in sight of finish line if he was in with a shout of winning .

 

[the_dark_horse]

Cool thread guys, as for fave rider, big mig is always the first tour winner I remember, love LeMond (bought one of his bikes!) and who can forget Ulrich overtaking Reese?!

As for the TV coverage Channel 4 def suck for pulling the daily plug. Best bet is to watch Phil and Gary on ITV2/3 on Freeview, or if you are in an area where you cant get freeview and done fancy paying for sky, the do a freeview type service for £150 - www.freesatfromsky.com

 

[ededwards]

For me it's Merckx, Hinault, Lemond (in no particular order) - sorry not to be more original. If only road cycling was as interesting/exciting now.

Overall possibly the Badger though if only for his ridiculously aggressive riding "As long as I breathe, I attack".

 

[dookie]

sean kelly anyone? oh wait, madcow has been there...

you can't argue with seven paris/nice wins in a row. and talk about longevity...he rode in the tour with merckx, hinault, lemond, indurain, *and* armstrong.