Top 5 Cyclists

I have a paper to write which of course I'm putting off till the the last possible minute. This is unfortunate because I obviously have other stuff I need to be doing as well. What I don't need to be doing is updating this blog twice in one day, but you know how that goes. This is much more fun and interesting to write than any old paper that's going to earn me a Master's degree.

As I was procrastinating from writing said paper I found this on Rapha's Blog. They polled some of their peeps for a top 5 favorite cyclist list. It's worth a quick look and of course the comments sections are a bunch of strangers top 5 lists as well.

This made me pick up a pen and jot down my top 5 and so I decided to share them and why. I also have my top 5 least favorite cyclists as well. The thing about this list is I tried to be as honest as possible. That's why in the picture you'll see Lance Armstrong was crossed out. In the Rapha blog they mention that most people pick their top five based on how they were drawn to the sport. I'd be lying if I tried to deny the fact that when I first gained interest in professional cycling I lived for July and Lance Armstrong dominance. But, over the years, I've become much less of a Lance fan for a variety of reasons, most of which I'm sure you can guess or know if you're a TeamLandall regular reader. They also mention that you usually pick guys based on what kind of rider you see yourself as, which is also true in my list. So, anyway, here they are and a brief why.



Top 5, in no particular order:

Chris Horner
When I first started following cycling, or really, the Tour de France, there was this American guy who would always do interviews after or before each stage. His interviews always talked about team tactics and how the race unfolded. His explanations were in depth but simple enough for a new student of the sport to understand what he was saying. This guy was also a fantastic domestique for what I have always considered a 2nd tier contender. That has to take a great deal of dedication which I admired. That guy was Chris Horner. He's been my favorite cyclist ever since.

George Hincapie
I'm a bit Scottie Pippen fan and George Hincapie is basically Scottie Pippen with shaved legs and bunch of bicycles in hanging in his garage. He's the guy that every single team knows is absolutely invaluable to their success. Though, I'm not sure I've ever heard George or Scottie say that in an interview. As I became more of a fan of the classics I started to like George for an entirely different set of reasons. It's easy to cheer for the favorites in Flanders and Roubaix, but my allegiance will always be with big George.

Floyd Landis
That's right. I said it. I know he's an admitted doper. I don't care. I liked Floyd when he was on Postal because of his quirky personality. I liked him when he moved to Phonak and have argued till I was blue in the face that he was clean. Obviously I was wrong. He's a polarizing figure and people can feel however they want. I'm not sure there's much that could be revealed about this guy that would knock him off my top 5 list. Floyd was not afraid to risk losing in order to win. That's something, doped up or not, is worth taking note of.

Jens Voight
Jens Voight is on everyone's top 5 list. I like guys that try to win races with suicidal moves that go from a very, very long way out. I wish I had that kind of engine.

Thomas Voeckler
Most American cycling fans think of Thomas Voeckler as the little guy that Lance was nice enough to give the yellow jersey to so many Tours de Frances ago. Thomas Voeckler is not that guy. He is a bad ass bike racer who knows his strengths and takes advantage of race situations that play into those strengths. He's not the best climber. He's not the best sprinter. He's really good out of small groups who have been off the front for a long, long time. He's got a ton of guts and when he does win races it's generally in a dramatic fashion.

Bottom 5, in no particular order:

Heinrich Haussler
The guy just strikes me the wrong way. He wears weird Ed Hardy hats in interviews, which is a characteristic you can hold against anyone! I may be of the "what have you done for me lately?" mentality when it comes to Haussler, but he just strikes me as all hype and little pay off.

Andre Greipel
Remember last year when Greipel cried constantly about not getting to race in big races? Now he is in big races and he's still not winning big races. Blah blah blah, good luck in the Tour of Turkey. I hear you're very good there.

Alexander Vinokourov
I am aware that I picked a former doper and two attacking riders in my top 5 and put a former doping attacking rider in my least 5. That doesn't really make sense right? Yeah, I don't care. I don't like the guy. He made a jersey with his face on it. That's just ridiculous.

Carlos Sastre
I remember watching the CSC documentary Overcoming and being left with the impression that Carlos Sastre is a whinny baby. I had never paid much attention to him before seeing that film and then it was the same thing in every interview. I know he won le Tour. I know he's never been tied in to any doping controversy. I know all of these things, but still, I'm just not a fan. He seems slow to respond to attacks in the mountains and except for that one time on Alpe d'Huez, he certainly doesn't attack on his own. Maybe I should make a list of wheel following grand tour contenders as well?

Alessandro Petacchi
This one probably isn't even that fair of an assessment. I'm sure there's somebody I like less than Petacchi and I'm just not thinking of them right now. But for as many times as he's busted for some sort of over the counter banned substance, I figure he's always on some sort of juice. Not to mention the fact that he gets very whinny in the media when nobody considers him a favorite in sprints.

That's enough procrastinating. That's my top 5 and least 5 favorite pro cyclist. If you feel so inclined put yours in the comments. They can be alive, dead or me for that matter. I'm probably a good choice for your list.