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Cycling is one of the most popular and celebrated sports around the world. This sport is full of adventure, strength, and also struggle. This competitive physical activity uses bicycles and there are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Various legends in the world of cycling etched their names in the history books. They made themselves immortal in the sands of time, leaving behind a legacy that only a handful can follow. These champions have overcome many challenges in their life and, and we have many examples of their brilliance such as conquering the Tour De France, Grand Tours, World Championships, and many more. In this blog, we will take a look at the all-time best road cyclist in the world.
Top 8 Best Road Cyclists of All Time
| S.No | Best Cyclist of All Time |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx |
| 2 | Jacques Anquetil |
| 3 | Bernard Hinault |
| 4 | Beryl Burton |
| 5 | Mario Cipollini |
| 6 | Marianne Vos |
| 7 | Jan Ullrich |
| 8 | Angelo Fausto Coppi |
Eddy Merckx
The most voted-for cyclist and the greatest of all time is The Cannibal, Eddy Merckx, a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer. He won eleven Grand Tours (five Tours de France, five Giros d’Italia, and a Vuelta an España), all five Monuments, three World Championships, and every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours. As an amateur racer, he won 80 races and turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Solo–Superia. His first crucial victory came in the Spring classic a year later, after switching to Peugeot–BP–Michelin.
Jacques Anquetil
Jacques was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, 4 of which were consecutive in a row. He was too good that he was known to be beating the clock at any kind of difficulty. Because of his brilliance in Time Trials, he was better known as Monsieur Chrono. He won multiple Tour De France Titles. Anquetil won a bronze medal for the French National team in the 100 km time trial at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
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Bernard Hinault
Bernard is a French former professional road cyclist, who won a staggering 28 stages, 13 of which were time trials. He was nicknamed le blaireau in French, which means either “the shaving brush” or “the badger”. He secured 147 professional victories, including 5 times the Tour de France. Bernard is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time and left behind a legacy because he was the last French cyclist to have won the Tour De France.
Beryl Burton
An English racing cyclist who dominated women’s cycle racing events and won more than 90 domestic championships. She won 7 world titles and set numerous national records. Her exemplary achievement came when she set a women’s record for the 12-hour time trial which exceeded the men’s record for 2 years. In 1960 and 1967, she won the women’s world road race championship and was the runner-up in 1961. Beryl won the Road Time Trials Council’s British Best All-Rounder Competition for 25 consecutive years from 1959 to 1983. She became the 1st woman to break the hour barrier for the 25-mile time trial in 1963. At the age of 58, she died in 1996.
Mario Cipollini
Mario often known as “Cipo”, is a former Italian professional road cyclist best known for his sprinting ability. His first professional victory came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 professional victories, 192 including criteriums. He had a colorful personality. His nicknames include Il Re Leone (The Lion King) and Super Mario. He is considered the best sprinter of his generation. Mario had 191 championship wins from 1989 to 2005. In early 2002, Cipollini won the Milan–San Remo with his new Acqua-Sapone team.
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Marianne Vos
She is a Dutch multi-talented cyclist who currently rides for the UCI Women’s WorldTeam Jumbo–Visma. After winning the European and World Junior Road Race Championships, she continued her triumphant journey in senior cycling by becoming the World Cyclocross and Road Racing Champion. Vos added a world track championship by winning the points race in 2008 and the scratch race in 2011. She secured the gold medal in the points race at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Vos is a three-time world champion in road racing – in 2006, 2012, and 2013. She is also an eight-time world champion in cyclocross – in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2022.
Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich is a former professional road bicycle racer from Germany. Ullrich won gold and silver medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won the Vuelta an España in 1999 and the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg in 1997. His winning ride at the 1997 Tour de France led to a cycling boom in Germany. Ullrich was banned from the Tour de France amid speculation of having doped in 2006. Ullrich retired in February 2007.
Angelo Fausto Coppi
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He was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after World War II. His achievements earned him the title II Campionissimo (“Champion of Champions”). In 1942, he claimed a wall-around at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan but later was crushed by Jacques Anquetil in 1956. He was an all-around racing cyclist as he excelled in both hill climbs and time trials, and was also a great sprinter. He won the Giro d’Italia five times (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953), the Tour de France twice (1949 and 1952), and the World Championship in 1953. His other memorable achievements include five Giro di Lombardia victories, three Milan–San Remo, as well as winning Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record of 45.798 km in 1942.
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Top 10 Indian Best Cyclist
| S.No | Indian Cyclist |
| 1 | Deborah Herold |
| 2 | Sreedhar Savanur |
| 3 | Bikram Singh |
| 4 | Rameshwori Devi |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Lt Col Srinivas Gokulnath |
| 7 | Amrit Singh |
| 8 | Arvind Panwar |
| 9 | Esow Alben |
| 10 | Dr. Amit Samarth |
FAQs
- What is a good speed for a road cyclist?
The average speed of cyclists while riding on a road or flatter elevation profile is between 14 and 18 mph (23-29 km/h). However, riding on inclined surfaces of 5%, most road cyclists have an average cycling speed of somewhere around 8 and 12 mph (13-19 km/h).
- What are the different types of cyclists?
The different types of Cyclist Include:
1)Climbers.
2) Sprinters.
3)Punchers
4) Riders.
5) All-rounders.
- Who is the greatest cyclist ever?
The most voted-for cyclist and the greatest of all time is The Cannibal, Eddy Merckx, a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer. He won eleven Grand Tours (five Tand ours de France, five Giros d’Italia, and a Vuelta an España), all five Monuments, three World Championships, and every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours.
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