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Is Froome the Greatest British cyclist?

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  • July 26, 2015 at 11:53 am #24500
    Leviathan

    BBC’s Matt Slater says…. No (sorry for spoiler)
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/33663653

    This being the internet, you might not agree. Nice article and a reminder we are not short on winners these days, long may it be so. (No sign of G on there just yet, I hope to see him in a break away in the Olympic road race next year.)

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Viewing 9 replies - 16 through 24 (of 24 total)
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  • July 26, 2015 at 4:43 pm #855151
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    Anonymous

    No. But not for the reason
    No. But not for the reason you might expect.

    I firmly believe that no sportsman/woman’s career can be judged whilst it is still ongoing.

    A sportsman/woman must retired and their career must survive the test of posterity before it can properly assessed. For example you can’t compare Vos with Burton as Vos is still competing.

    July 26, 2015 at 4:08 pm #855149
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    Leviathan

    HalfWheeler wrote:What’s the

    HalfWheeler wrote:
    What’s the best fruit, apples or oranges?

    Apples

    July 26, 2015 at 3:44 pm #855147
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    Simon E

    stumps wrote:If we were to

    stumps wrote:
    If we were to say is he the greatest Grand Tour rider then its probably yes although some might have Cav above him.

    Mark has not won any Grand Tours. He is at 4h 12 mins behind Froome in 142nd place, he can’t make that time up on the Champs Elysees! But his list of 133 pro wins is phenomenal (see this CW article).

    I am not so sure that I would put Wiggins second behind Froome. I doubt he’d have made the podium this year if he’d been leader at Sky. The 2012 route was unusually well suited to him. Froome seemed at least as good everywhere except the TTs while Nibali, who was yet to win a GT, was the only real opposition for Sky.

    The depth of British talent is so different now to even 10 years ago. It will be very interesting to see how the palmares of Kennaugh and the Yates brothers compare with their ambition and obvious potential.

    Another reason that makes it impossible to compare across the decades is the team. Robert Millar had very little team support, particularly at Peugeot where there were split loyalties between French and Anglophone riders. How much better could he have done with proper support?

    Pioneers like Brian Robinson were effectively riding solo. Tony Hewson also raced in the 1950s, his book In Pursuit of Stardom is a great read and a real eye-opener as to the harsh conditions for independents racing in a foreign country.

    July 26, 2015 at 3:22 pm #855145
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    HalfWheeler

    What’s the best fruit, apples
    What’s the best fruit, apples or oranges?

    July 26, 2015 at 2:58 pm #855143
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    dunnoh

    He has to be up there, he has
    He has to be up there, he has a great talent. My opinion of him has changed immeasurably on this tour with the way that hes handled himself and the decorum hes shown.

    July 26, 2015 at 2:26 pm #855141
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    Stumps

    Simon E – exactly, we have
    Simon E – exactly, we have quite a selection of great riders now, including the women.

    If we were to say is he the greatest Grand Tour rider then its probably yes although some might have Cav above him.

    However the achievements of Cav, Wiggins, Thomas and even Kennaugh should not be ignored and they all deserve a great deal of recognition. To be honest the list could go on and on with Cummings, Stannard all doing great things in cycling as well.

    July 26, 2015 at 2:17 pm #855139
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    Simon E

    How do you define
    How do you define “greatest”?

    Can you (should you) compare Mark Cavendish’s wins etc or Chris Hoy’s track kilo/sprint career with a Grand Tour? Seems a bit pointless.

    The “is he really British?” question is just an insult.

    I can’t see how you can really compare the achievements of Beryl Burton or Nicole Cooke with the men. They deserve their own list, and it’s great to be able to say that we have a growing number of great female athletes. B-)

    July 26, 2015 at 12:32 pm #855137
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    crikey

    Phew, good job Saint Wiggins
    Phew, good job Saint Wiggins wasn’t born in Belgium to an Australian father, Oh…

    July 26, 2015 at 12:20 pm #855135
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    Judge dreadful

    Nope, he’s a pretty good
    Nope, he’s a pretty good Kenyan though =))

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