Best Cycle Racer Ever??

[sjiskebab5]

We in belgium currently have the world champion cycle racing: Tom Boonen, we also had Eddy Merckx : probably the best cycle races ever.

 

I know U.S.A also has a good racer but i forgot hes name srry :?

 

 

 

post ur thoughts :)

[unknownmasterofnothing]

Do you mean Lance Armstrong from the U.S?

[Bubsa]

Chris Boardman, Olympic cycling gold medalist, hails from my part of the world! :D He's about the only famous person who does. I guess Paul O' Grady too, but he's the other side of the Wirral.

 

 

 

*Edit* Added wikipedia link to Chris :P

[timmay929]

Lance Armstrong. Probably the best to ever ride the Tour de France from my country.

[sjiskebab5]

Do you mean Lance Armstrong from the U.S?

 

 

 

yea that one :oops:

[Phil]

Personally I think the best cyclist ever was Lance Armstrong. His fitness was just amazing.

 

 

 

From Edinburgh we have Chris Hoy His old school was next to my old flat.

 

He is a gold medalist from the last olympics and gold & bronze medalist from the recent Commonwealth games.

[sjiskebab5]

yea lance armstrong won alot of big races. tour de france ( don't know wath the english name is :? )

 

since 1999....thats insane. But eddy merckx did it 5 ( or 6 times) so he's kinda insane to

[Bubsa]

To be honest, anyone willing to cycle up and down mountains at insanely quick speed in tight lycra outfits is insane to me :shock:

[Necromagus]

Lance Armstrong definiately isn't the best racer ever. In these days of professional racing, his team is able to offer him every technological advantage available. While his physical fitness still helps, I really doubt if he would have been as succesful thirty or forty years ago.

[insane]

Lance Armstrong definiately isn't the best racer ever. In these days of professional racing, his team is able to offer him every technological advantage available. While his physical fitness still helps, I really doubt if he would have been as succesful thirty or forty years ago.

 

 

 

My friend races and he says that having cancer actually improved Armstrong's racing abilities - before he started racing, he was a triathelete - which meant he had upper body muscle that weighed him down when he was a bike racer - after cancer his body was depleted of that muscle, meaning he could rebuild his body into perfect form for cycling.

[Phil]

My dad used to be a big cyclist about 40 years ago. He is one to usually say that modern things aren't as good as when he did it, but in cycling he recognises how good Armstrong is, even with all the modern technology. If he says that then I'm going to believe him :P

 

 

 

Necro it's all relative. You can't say that cyclists these days wouldn't have been successful 40 years ago.

[Bubsa]

Equally, we just don't know if the cyclists of 30-40 years ago would be able to beat/compete with the athletes of today on a level playing field.

[assassin_696]

As awesome as Lance Armstrong is, he isn't the greatest cyclist ever. It has to be Eddy Merckx. Lance Armstrong however completely dominated le Tour de France, and his fitness and training and determination are inspirational.

 

 

 

Although velodrome cycling is tough, it's not the same as climbing a mountain in boiling heat. I do a fair bit of cycling myself, and I have ultimate respect for tour riders.

[Punc]

Eddy Merckx, he won almost every race possible. 'All' Lance Amstrong did was doing nothing for a whole year then riding all his power out in one race. Merckx won the Tour the France while winning several other races in the same year too.

 

 

 

But still, Amstrong rules over the Tour for 7 years, what is incredible. But Merckx did it for 5 years while winning other races hard aswell.

[CoRnMaN]

my english teacher went to france and foot raced, he placed like 11th out of 300 or what ever it was, he said he had to wear funny shoes.

[Bubsa]

my english teacher went to france and foot raced, he placed like 11th out of 300 or what ever it was, he said he had to wear funny shoes.

 

....You're so weird. I mean there's cute weird, like me, but you're just...

[cadburys_egg]

my english teacher went to france and foot raced, he placed like 11th out of 300 or what ever it was, he said he had to wear funny shoes.

 

....You're so weird. I mean there's cute weird, like me, but you're just...

 

 

 

Bubsa... Cute? *Bursts of laughter*

[Demoris]

Lance Armstrong definiately isn't the best racer ever. In these days of professional racing, his team is able to offer him every technological advantage available. While his physical fitness still helps, I really doubt if he would have been as succesful thirty or forty years ago.

 

 

 

My friend races and he says that having cancer actually improved Armstrong's racing abilities - before he started racing, he was a triathelete - which meant he had upper body muscle that weighed him down when he was a bike racer - after cancer his body was depleted of that muscle, meaning he could rebuild his body into perfect form for cycling.

 

 

 

What I think a huge part of it was the fact that he kept all of his strength, but he lost a lot of weight. Less weight and same strength = better cycling. So basically yeah, that's what he did. Rebuilt his body for cycling.

 

 

 

Anyway, in no particular order:

 

 

 

• Eddy Merckx - most dominate cycler ever
   
  Bernard Hinault - 5 time tour de france winner, 3 time giro d'italia winner, plus a number of others
   
  Greg Lemond - brought cycling to the USA
   
  Jacques Anquetil - first 5 time tour winner
   
  Miguel Indurain - 5 time (consecutive) tour winner, plus the giro d'italia twice in years he won the tour
   
  Lance Armstrong - 7 time winner, most tours, most consecutive, especially after the comeback from cancer.

 

 

 

One thing most, if not all, of these cyclists have in common are larger hearts, larger lung capacities, and in Armstrong's case, lower levels of lactate build-up. They all add up for being an elite cyclist.