Who is the All Time Greatest Cyclist?
We are compiling a list of the greatest athletes from the sport of cycling, which will then be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports).
The first stage is to get nominations for the sport of cycling before the vote is started. Cyclists from all disciplines can be listed here. See the current list below of top athletes, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. If you believe that there is someone missing from this list, please send a message, including any relevant details about the person.
World's Greatest Cyclists List
The cyclists below are listed in no particular order - once the shortlist is complete then you will be able to vote for who you think is the greatest of all. This list is not complete - if you know of someone who should be listed here, let us know using the comment form below.
| name | notes |
|---|---|
| Alfredo Binda | Italian cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s |
| Bernard Hinault | French cyclist, won the Tour de France five times |
| Francesco"Checco" Moser | Italian road racer. one of the dominant riders from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s |
| Eddy Merckx | Belgium rider, won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia five times each |
| Fausto Coppi | Italian rider, won the Tour de France twice, and the Giro d'Italia five times. |
| Felice Gimondi | Italian rider, One of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España |
| Gino Bartali | Italian champion road cyclist, won the Giro d'Italia three times and the Tour de France in 1938 and 1948. Famously won three consecutive mountain stages (13, 14 and 15) in the 1948 Tour de France. |
| Hubert Opperman | Australian cyclist known for his endurance feats |
| Jacques Anquetil | French road racing cyclist. He was the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, between 1957 and 1964. |
| Jan Ullrich | German professional road cyclist. He was the first German to win the Tour de France (1997) |
| Lance Armstrong | From the USA, once held the record for 7 Tourn de France wins. He was found guilty of doping in 2012, but still undeniably one of the greatest ever cyclists. |
| Louison Bobet | French cyclist. First rider to win the Tour de France in 3 successive years (1953 to 1955) |
| Marco Pantani | Italian. He won both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 1998 |
| Miguel Indurain | Spanish rider. Won five consecutive Tours de France from 1991 to 1995 |
| Rik Van Looy | Belgium Rider. twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five 'Monuments': |
Related Pages
- More about cycling
- All time greatest index of sports
- Other sport specific lists
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Old Comments
Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.
- Sarah (2018)
Three time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond way more deserves to be the American presence on this list over dopehead Lance Armstrong. - Barbara Ford (Tommys daughter) (2016)
Tommy Godwin British cyclist born 1912 who from 1/1/1939 to 31/12/1939 cycled 75, 065 miles and continued to May 1940 where his total miles were 100,000 miles. This record has never been broken. His life story has been documented in a book by Godfey Barlow "Unsurpassed" and again in "The Year " written by Dave Barter. Tommy Godwin has been quoted as "The greatest endurance cyclist in the world".
To omit Tommy Godwin from this list is a traversty. - Sandra Wright Sutherland (2016)
Audrey McElmury. She was WAY ahead of her time. The first American World Champion on the road, and fully competitive with the best women cyclists in the world. He new biography is available on Amazon. She did not just jump on her bike and win, she spent 10 years building to that moment, against social mores that tried to keep her from competing. She was competitive with Beryl Burton, one of cycling's known top riders. Audrey deserves far more recognition. - OLANIYAN ADAMS (2014)
OLANIYAN ADAMS- proven by deductive science- he has been proven to be the world's fastest cyclist ever, especially from 2006- present cyclists' athletic season.
ADAMS self propels on his various bike brands over 89mph to 134mph to 143mph.Repeatedly, same cyclist, the OLANIYAN ADAMS set the cycling velocity world record in his city, San Francisco, California, USA. - Chris Daigle (2013)
A glaring omission would be Marshall "Major" Taylor.
Also, Jeannie Longo in recent times and Beryl Burton, who held world record times even better than the men. - Tyreece Williams (2013)
lance armstrong is good but he was doping - Take a look at your list and point out the other guys who plead guilty to doping too...Ullrich? yep Merckx...yep Pantani? yep.... others? yep. so singling out LA is kinda silly (from john, Feb 2013)
- Good list, but I'd recommend putting Contador on there as well. He's not the best, but he's up there. (from Jim, Jan 2013)
- ROCHESTER VICTORIA BOY HUBERT OPPERMAN BY A LONG LONG WAY WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE TYPE OF BIKE HE RODE. MAN HE WAS GOOD. (from A PROUD AUSSIE, July 2012)
- Sean Kelly (from Cycling Man, July 2011)
- mark cavndish (from akshay yadav, May 2011)
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