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I know I may get slated for this given his past but I really admire David Millar. He is open about his past but is an intelligent guy and still a great rider.
My other heroes are the likes of Jo Burt, Justin Loretz, Rob Warner and Jason McRoy who opened up this sport to me in the mid 90s and made me realise that it was as much more than just riding a bike.
Also the old man who I helped on the A38 once who had a mild bonk on the return leg of a Bristol to Gloucester ride. "At 72 " He said "I should probably give this up...." To him and all the other old guys still riding.
Matt Hoffman........just awesome!
Good thread. My first thought was Lemons as I read the samual abt book when I was younger. However, thinking about it now, I'm more tempted to think It's the likes of Sheldon and Jedi. The big difference really is that what they do benefits others.
Palmer, Tomac, Peaty, Myles Rockwell, Dave Cullinan and Missy Giove in my youth
And more recently...
Mark Weir - he's the rider I wish I was, fit as butchers dog and tons of skill/balls.
Wade Simmons, Andrew Shandro and Matt Hunter as they all appear to have a huge passion for mountain biking be it Trail riding or freeriding.
ACtually that's a good point. My cousin's other grandfather was an inspiration. A member of Boston Wheelers for most of his adult life and was still riding until not that long before his death. Wasn't quick any more but loved riding his bike.
Obree - for his ability to challenge conventional thinking and then deliver the goods
MegaSkills - for changing my view of what is possible on a bike
Cav - for being able to match his talk off the bike with the performances on it
Sue W's brother - just wow!
Interesting, Im attracted to those who've shown ability in more than one cycling discipline.
So for me its Merxc, Armstrong, Mosely followed by Peaty, Hart & Cav.
Wiggo will get the nod for me IF he has a good tour.
I know that being French is controlversial
but Chausson and Vouilloz
I've only ever seen one world class downhill, Vale 1994. They were both Juniors but were fast. Both had amazing careers as sesniors
Sue W's brother now.
Other people I admire are Peaty, Wade Simmons, Shandro etc.
Indurain, Tomac, Valverde (what??), Sastre, Garzelli, Sola, Moncutie'.
I grew up watching the TdF in the 80's and continued to this day, though the Giro is my fave, then the Vuelta then the hard one day races in the Italian hills and French ones in Brittany..
Though who I actually ride like is anyones guess..
Surely it has to be Smurfhat in all his awesomeness who used to be on here?!
Seriously, Jedi gets my vote - if he's made as much difference to others' riding as he has to Mrs O's and mine, he is a hero.
At the moment, Mike Hall 🙂
Just rode around the world in 91 days. Averaging 200 miles a day.
+1 for Jens Voigt, an animal on a bike,,,,,,
As for who the F is Rob Lee, for the record he is someone who did a few long distance things to an ok level a few years back when the standards/expectations were low. (eg west highland way at running speed on a bike.)Then wrote a book on it. He's not shown his face in recent years probably due to the standard improving at solo 24hr and endurance events/challenges, and if he did he would get his ticket in a massive way these days........
chris akrigg .hes a true inspiration to me .top bloke too
Beryl Burton (*who I didn't know about till her name was posted on here, a small post with slightly weird answers that made me look her up)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/05/15/people_beryl_burton_feature.shtml
the bit about where she passed the bloke (who was currently setting the mans world record for 12 hours), offered hime a liquorice allsort and then went on to set the actual world record appears to be true
"At the end of the 12 hour race Mike Mcnamara had beaten the 9 year old 12 hour record, finishing with 276.52 miles. However, his record beating ride, was completely overshadowed by Beryl’s ride which left her with a total of 277.52 miles, the first time any male road cycling record had been held by a women."
mangoridebike & Coyote - thanks 🙂
Not a hero but I really liked Merckx's style.
Obree as well, there's thinking differently despite having some serious crippingly difficult mental issues to deal with.
Stephen Roche.
And Tommy Goodwin.
And John Stamsted.
On a less endurance more skills theme then Mark Weir and Nico
No one.
Got really into road racing watching the TdF in the early 90s.
Then a couple of years down the line discovered that all my "heroes" were in fact total drug hoovers.
Put me off, massively.
Obree for me.
paul fournel. maybe not a hero as susch but much of what he writes about cycling strikes a chord.
Chris Akrigg here too... unstoppable man of Yorkshire grit...
Reg Harris, when a I was a young man at the peak of my fitness, riding up holmes moss, an old codger rode past me like I was standing still, my riding buddy informed me it was Reg Harris, so even though he is an insparation to keep riding till I die, I also hate him for beating me up holmes moss.
Big Mig, he was the champion when I first started watching the tours, and he did it seemingly with a complete lack of arrogance, selfishness or the vindictiveness that so may sports men seem to believe is an essential part of the "winning" character.
Wiggo seems to be cut from the same cloth as Big Mig, and he seems a bit smarter than your average cyclist (or any other sports participants), he needs a tour victory to become a real hero, but he is an inspiration that you can still win the right way.
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.
I think you have the wrong magazine Rupert!
its this months MBR with the young gentleman that has inspired you with his Death riding etiquette racing and beating the holiday makers.
Lone voice in the wilderness here for Tom Simpson
Steve peat for me.
Graeme Obree. Read his book when I was just getting into cycling. I'd just been diagnosed with depression. He was a big inspriation to me. Helped me start the journey out of a very dark place.
Puck the bmx'r from real-world. Armstrongs alterego?
I jest but for some reason in spite of his prowess and achievements something gets in the way where Arm strong is concerned - personality, politics, american legend, Bush, Crow - just me? Discuss..
.-.
Hoy!! hope he does it again in loudon.
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graeme obree
JMC was a real influence to me when I started riding. I guess he opened my eyes to riding other than xc racing.
Jedi and Wa are both inspirations. They love riding and just seem happy to share their passion no matter what, or how, you ride.
Robert Millar and Chris Boardman when I was a kid and my dad would watch races on the tv. Tomac and JMC as a teen. Jill Homer right now.
Sean Kelly for me. He was also my old mans hero when I was a kid. Probably the last man in the peleton to switch from toe clips & straps to clipless. (applies to both of them)
Back in the day racing with Hinault , Lemond etc.
He owned Paris Nice and was always exciting watching him in the one days, especially Paris Roubaix.
It's got to be McNasty (aka George Berwick):
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Now in his 70s, George is still outriding people that are half a century younger.
A former winner of the Mersey 24 hour, George has ridden the event since the 1960s, and has now completed a lifetime total of [b]fifty-one[/b] 24 hour races. George is still the holder of the Scottish 24 hour record (set in 1967) and York-Edinburgh and London-Edinburgh RRA tandem records (set with John Murdoch).
Recently referred to as the "James Bond of Audax", George has ridden multiple Paris-Brest-Paris events (a 1200km Audax) and countless shorter distance events. When his downtube sheared during a 1500km Audax in Germany a couple of years ago, he famously completed the final 500km with this zip-tie bodge:
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(more on the [url= http://westlothianclarion.yuku.com/topic/1183#.T9MI7LDx1cw ]West Lothian Clarion forum[/url]).
George started recording his cycling mileage when he was 18, and hit the [b]half million mile[/b] mark back in 1996. No idea what his current total is.
In case anyone thinks George's palmares are all road based, he has been a member of the Rough Stuff Fellowship since the '60s and is famous for hauling his bike over mountains and bivvying in bothies and caves all over Scotland, decades before the arrival of the mountain bike.
George Berwick - cycling legend and style icon. I don't think he spends a lot of time worrying about whether his anodized top cap matches his handlebar grips...
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At the moment, Mike HallJust rode around the world in 91 days. Averaging 200 miles a day.
Yep mental.. here is his route:
http://trackleaders.com/worldcycleracei.php?name=Mike_Hall
Danny Macaskill. What a humble bloke with mountains of talent.
Can cycle nearly every discipline.
Joe Barns is up there too.
Mcnasty is just a legend.
Started durness duress 300 with him - wearing a cyclin cape and riding a raleigh twenty.
He came in only an hour after me.
the death riding guru who will rather die than let a rider go past him 😀 inspiration to us all
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Bernard Hinault
When wearing the yellow jersey in the 1979 TdeF he won the final stage.
When wearing the yellow jersey in the 1982 TdeF he won the final stage.
Paul Sherwin was third across the line, winning the bunch sprint, on the final stage in 1979: what ever happened to him?
Sherwin does some commentary work now I believe
Real life rider = ash from trailaddiction, the rolling Endo switchback guru!
Mtber = Cedric gracia for being a mentalist and spending the whole run on the back wheel 🙂
Road = cuddles ! = cadel mostly because he puts alot of heart into his riding and I starting mtb when he was winning xc mtb world cups
Or
Freddy Maertens
http://www.flandriabikes.com/heroes/freddy-maertens
"Maertens won the 1976 and 1981 World Road Race Championships, and came a close 2nd in the 1973 race amid much controversy."
If you are a Merckx fan then do not read Maertens book [i]Fall from Grace[/i]: interestingly nobody disputes what Maertens says in his book.
"Maertens most stunning achievement was in the 1977 Tour of Spain, where he led from start to finish, winning 13 stages along the way - a feat of dominance that matched anything Merckx achieved.
During the previous year Maertens won 8 stages in the Tour de France, which equalled Merckx’s record.
In 1976 Maertens recorded the most wins for a professional in a single season, with his total of 54 equalling Merckx’s record set in 1971."
My grandad. He was looking good for a great road cycling in his day (1930s and 40s) but crashed into a truck on a time trial and smashed his pelvis. After a year and a half in hospital then the rehab got back on the bike and was still cycling well into his 70s!! He's 93 now and I am still riveted when he talks about his racing... cycled 30 miles to the start of his race, raced for 100 miles, then 30 miles back home in some cases!! All on a fixed gear!
Taught me to ride, built me the best bike I've ever owned during his work as a welder! My Dad made him a book for his 90th...[img] 
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