Just interested as I read an article in this months cycling magazine about some young cyclist who had a passion for cycling, to the point he was prepared to take risks! This young man had incredible confidence to the point that it really inspired me, made me think I even wanted to be this individual! Don’t know who he is but I’m so glad I saw it. Since reading it I’ve broken my record on false teeth at coed-y-Benin by 30 seconds! !! 😀
Inspiration is a brilliant emotion! Hence my thread. 🙂

Because of the awesome

Dunno if I’d say hero but..

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoBtD6NURBk[/video]

Greg Lemond. No really reason other than watching him race.

Sheldon Brown, a lifetime devoted to cycling of one form or another, and even towards the end of his life when illness threatened his raison d’etre he still maintained a positive outlook.

I doubt I’ll ever amass half as much knolwedge as he did and I certainly won’t be helping half as many amateur cyclists/cycle mechanics even so he’s been my inspiration since I returned to the cycling fold 10+ years ago.

Good call on Mikey Aitken there Tom.
I’ll add Marco Simoncelli for ‘motor’cycling aswell.

all of you guys on STW.. 😳

Marco pantani, who else could pull off that head gear.

Jan Ullrich – flawed obviously, but on his day……
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l39ahBFGnuk[/video]

Most of team gb and messrs obree and armstrong.

OLD-SCHOOL BADNESS.
TOMMY GODWIN: BEAT THE ‘YEAR’S MILEAGE’ RECORD BY OCTOBER 1939. AND RODE ON TO 75,065 MILES FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR.
KEPT ON RIDING TO TAKE THE 100,000 MILE RECORD IN MAY 1940. SPENT A FEW WEEKS LEARNING HOW TO WALK AGAIN, THEN WENT OFF TO FIGHT THE WAR.
BEAT THAT, PUSSIES.

I’d have to say Beryl Burton. What she achieved was amazing. I’m also pretty impressed by Mike Hall, more recently.

Peyote – Member

Sheldon Brown, a lifetime devoted to cycling of one form or another, and even towards the end of his life when illness threatened his raison d’etre he still maintained a positive outlook.
Top bloke, I was in email communication with him till 2 weeks before he died as my wife has secondary progressive MS (poor sod had primary progressive)

In a cycle sport hero way it would have to be a 3 way split between Bernard Hinault, Sean Kelly & Sean Yates. All who I have met during their “hero years” and were like supermen!

Laurent Fignon, such passion and élan.

Lance Armstrong. Inspired me back on to the bike and generally turn my life around.

Mark Cavendish. Again the passion.

Dave Buchanan.

Strength demonstrated through humility, determination and friendship; and an amazing cyclist to boot. Very few people around demonstrate those kinds of qualities.

And Palmer. Because he’s a nutjob.

Lance Armstrong

Mcmullen and Weir for the love of riding bikes.

Joanna Rowsell; wig-wearing-wonderwoman.

Graeme Obree; marmalade-munching-madman.

Reg Harris – read his biography when I was 15 back in 1980.
Robert Miller
Lance Armstrong
Gordon Singleton

Good call on Sheldon Brown

Drwato

Jedi…got me airbourne 😀

There was a guy telling a story on here a few weeks ago about some chap back in the day who turned up for a road race in France straight from the trenches, borrowed a bike off a local, dropped the home favourite in front of his own house and then finished so far ahead of the peloton he stopped in a pub for some pints before crossing the line and being carried around the velodrome by fans for a victory lap because he was too drunk to walk…that guy is my hero.

I’ll see if I can find the story..

Edit: full story below as quoted by Atlaz in this thread:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-predict-the-rebirth-of-a-retro-niche

HENRI VAN LERBERGHE, THE ‘DEATHRIDER OF LICHTERVELDE’, RIGHT NOW.
HE TURNED UP ON THE START LINE OF THE 1919 TOUR OF FLANDERS STRAIGHT FROM THE TRENCHES WITHOUT A BIKE. HE BORROWED ONE, ATTACKED THE FAVOURITE JULES VANHEVEL IN FRONT OF HIS OWN HOUSE, AND STOPPED IN SIGHT OF THE VELODROME FOR A COUPLE OF BEERS BEFORE THE FINISH.
HE STILL FINISHED 14 MINUTES UP ON THE FIELD, DESPITE BEING SO WASTED HE HAD TO COMPLETE HIS LAP OF HONOUR ON FOOT.

Bit of a cliche but Lance Armstrong. He’s quite an inspiration especially during tough times.

Reading Mark Cavendish’s and Rob Lee’s books at the moment, could be future potentials.

My riding buddies – they are all frikken awesome and inspire me as well as worry me (in equal measures).

Merckx, work ethic, grace in defeat, rode everything, attacked rather than followed

Merckx. As a rider there is no comparison.

rOcKeTdOg, the king of the NW Alps

Lemond, Fignon, Tomac, Palmer.

Jason McCroy, John Tomac, Brian Lopes, Peaty

JMC

Ride free

i’m no hero splashdown 🙂

my 1st childhood hero was cav strutt, uks first bmx freestyle pro. i now ride with him on mtb!

Close call between Obree and Sheldon for me.

Maybe because they’re both as mad as a bottle of chips, but in a good way.

Steve Peat for being around that long and finally doing it in Canberra
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyeXF7cdvJs&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
Lance Armstrong for coming back and his charity work

Mark Cavandish for telling it like it is

and
Tracey Mosley for winning everything then finding new events to enter!

Mcmullen and Weir for the love of riding bikes

Good call. Weir is an amazing rider with balls of steel.

Not really someone who has heroes but big fan of Jens Voigt. Really nice guy in person, funny and as hard as nails.

Tomac for doing so well in both DH and XC and inspiring me when I first got into mountain biking.
Armstrong for his pure determination to fight cancer and then go on to his TDF victories.

… To be honest as others have said there’s quite a lot of people that have done amazing rides and inspiring stuff but at the end of the day the greatest local inspiration was an old fella who I used to see on my commute to my last job, must have been in his 70/80’s, wearing great trad wool gear, going slow on an old race bike but still going. I hope I am still doing the same at his age.

obree and sheldon brown for me.
for the reasons given above by coolhandluke.

Peaty is a most excellent role model, I think.

I have a bit of an obsession with Cav at the moment but I’m not sure he’s achieved hero status yet. I’d like to see if he could achieve anything on the bike beyond track/ sprinting.

another one here for jedi. i dont follow famous cyclists, DH, XC or anything like that, i follow my friends into the woods…. jedi has probably spread more smiles across faces teaching people how to have more fun riding that anyone i can think of. for me that’s what its all about, having fun