Who was your cycling hero?

[losidan]

for me it was sean yates...Malcolm Elliott described him as "just an animal"
Summed him up perfectly for me. I loved the channel 4 tv footage on the old TDF show in 87 or 88 TDF of yates descending in the alps.....Legend, loved his style.

 

[NickD]

Merckx for me, I think.

 

[Max P]

Hmm, covering a certain time frame - Andy Ruffell and Stu Thomson. Then not so much a hero but admired and respected was Robert Millar.

 

[kaiser]

Bob Haro
Robert Millar
Big Mig
Ulli

 

[jonnyboy666]

always liked bugno, he won a few things such as the world champions jersey and the giro but always seemed to be a nearly man.

 

[cchris2lou]

The badger for me :

met him privately and he real nice chap .

 

[Agency_Scum]

Octave Lapize. The daddy.

 

[guybe]

Richard Virenque

 

[Old Ned]

The trouble for me now is that, since reading Matt Rendell's Marco Pantani book, all my old 'heroes' are now viewed with suspicion. Several of the riders shown above have definitely been involved with drug taking and who knows how many more famous performances in the Tour etc. were due to 'artificial aids'? I have been viewing some old TdF video tapes and it is now hard to be excited by the incredible feats of climbing and time trialling I am seeing knowing that they could be tainted.

I know that it can be said that if they were all doing it then it is still a 'level playing field' but that is not necessarily so. The various drugs act on individuals in slightly different ways so EPO (for instance) may be more effective for one rider than another so the race results are even more distorted. Perhaps I'm becoming a cynic in my old age!

My 'heroes' go back to the late 50's/early 60's with Rik Van Looy, Hermann Van Springel, Jacques Anquetil, Louison Bobet, Fausto Coppi etc. etc. and all the British TdF riders of that era, Tommy Simpson, Brian Robinson, Alan Ramsbottom, Vin Denson, Shay Elliott (I know he's not strictly British but near enough!).

However, I think my 'Uber Hero' is Alf Engers, the greatest ever British short distance time triallist, seen in action here at Catterick

 

[tintin40]

Tim Gould and most certainly Graeme Obree. Watch the film the 'Flying Scotsman'