This being the eve of his retirement.
On the one hand we have perhaps the greatest Classics rider of his generation. 3 time winner of both Flanders and Roubaix. A memorable Milan Sanremo win. A bunch of Monument podiums and a fair few other classic wins. 7 Tour stage wins and yellow jersey wearer. 4 time World Time Trial Champion. Two Olympic Time Trial gold medals and one silver. About the only thing missing that he might have been expected to win is the road World Champs.
On the other hand he rode for some fairly tainted teams and under management known to encourage doping and have links to Fuentes. Rumoured to be one of the blood bags in the Puerto case (will DNA matching finally put this one to bed?) Then there’s the motor doping allegations from 2010 when he won both Flanders and Roubaix.
Really enjoyed watching him race over the years and I’m hoping it’ll be the former that he’s remembered for a few years down the road.