on the back of the best football thread
so who do YOU think is best
.
.ROAD = Cancellara
.OFFROAD = Tinker

Pele.

Cancellara is a good punt but for sheer class over 3 weeks Lance.

Legend of all time, in my eyes Sean Kelly!!!

Depends what you mean but 'modern era' but of the people I've watched rather than read about…

Road: Armstrong
Off: Giove

It's me, isn't it?

Well I am watching Paris-Roubaix at the moment and I have to say Cancellara.

Awesome.

peteimpreza – Member

Well I am watching Paris-Roubaix at the moment and I have to say Cancellara.

Awesome.

+1, he is a bit special.

Road: Paco Mancebo
Off road: Paco Mancebo.

bernard hinualt, could win any road event in style. maybe not modern era though.

Hinault rates high for me as I remember watching him and Lemond battling it out on the TDF when C4 had proper music 😉
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccyOzaf7EEM
As for the best now, haven't a clue, but Armstrong is without a doubt the most iconic.

Cancellara is a good punt but for sheer class over 3 weeks Lance.

LA, for most of his career, had a season geared up to one thing & one thing only – the TdF. While he's iconic, and winning so many TdFs on the bounce is an incredible achievement, I'd say that in the big picture, he's not in the same league as Cancellara. Or Contador.

Andy

Lance and Evans. Both good on and off road.

Remember Lance plummeting off the road in that crash in the TdF, he stayed on the bike where others would have crashed, and rejoined the road seamlessly.

Evans was a classy mtb rider before he succumbed to the attraction of the bigger money on the road.

Me!

(wakes up from dream world)

Lance on the road bike for his ability and age but Contador is the best at present time.

Mtb? Emily Batty -she's fit on the bike and off the bike.

Underrated- Cadel Evans for road.

Best mtber of the 2 decades – Peaty.

Can I mention Tomac here? Won in XC, DH, BMX and road. Pretty impressive all rounder!

Also, surely Nico Vouilloz deserves a mention for all those DH titles?

Personally I'd say Fabians not there yet. if he can learn how to climb he could well be the greatest ever, not just of the modern era though. His ride today was one of the most incredible rides ever seen I think, his speed was mindblowing

Road: no idea
Off-road: Remy Absalon

cancellara is very impressive, scarily powerful but not the complete package. hinault could time trial like him, dominate a tour like armstrong and was a hard as nails classic rider like kelly. i don't think there is anyone around like that at the moment. there was some belgain bloke before him who was quite good.

off road.. Tim Gould/David Baker

i used to like watching ullrich, pantani and virenque. lance is top dog tho of recent years. these days as much as i dont really like him contador takes some beating. cancellara is looking good tho and can decend very very well worth watching just to see him going downhill 😉

where's your patriotism??
.
it's Peataaaay

road, indurain
offroad, tomac

i dont watch off road cycling at all. am i bad ;-(

It's all very well saying people like Hinault because they won tours/classics/TTs, but modern racing is a totally different game. Mercx won all three jerseys in the TdF, I'd place a substantial bet that no one will ever equal that, it's not because no one's as good, but the sport has just changed.

I'd say Julian Absalon off road.

Contador on the road, although Cancellara is a definite contender to the throne, but lets be honest, he can just time trial phenomenally, he wins everything from solo breaks, which whilst stunning to watch isn't going to win him anything beyond a one day race.

Sauser isnt bad – I wonder what he would be like on a road bike?..

But Peaty competes in a small very niche discipline so can't be classed as the best in the modern era.I think you need to be an all rounder which also counts out Armstrong for the only good for 3 weeks argument already stated Sean Yates any one? 😯

But Peaty competes in a small very niche discipline so can't be classed as the best in the modern era.I think you need to be an all rounder

Remy Absalon

Look him up 😉

racing is different now, there a bunch of fannies who like to pick their race 😉

Define "modern" 😉

glupton/smee/goan/phoenix nights [or whatever he's called this week]

/end of thread

Lance – road
sam hill – offroad (watch his champery race run on clay porters 'First' movie and I defy anyone to not watch in awe.)

it can't be Lance. Grantted he has won other things but mostly he's known for lots of tours. Very impressive but with a huge backing from his team etc. Notice he wasn't there today or last week. Its like suggesting Hoy. Great at his game but thats it. Probably no real road allrounder since Hinault. And Merckx before him. off road. Hmm well its too divided into chunks now so it would have to tbe Tomac who was good at most things. Can't see Peat doing well at a xc race or JA down hill.

Who else?

yeah i forgot lance wasnt any cop lol what was he 21/22 and world champ

got to be john tomac …outstanding and way ahead of his time , in my opinion steve peat is no where near the top

road either bernard hinault or mr armstrong — just amazing athletes

I'd have to weigh up Cadel Evans and Andrei Tchmil – now there's a propr hard man

Lance on the road, complete dominance for such a period of time at the tour and good at other stuff. Contador should be better now he's much younger but Armstrong would have spanked him only a few years ago(and might do at the tour this year?)

Off road? What about Chris Eatough. 24hr dominator and pretty good bike handler. And he's English!

Eatough's american isn't he?! Or was he born in England and reloacted?

Can't see Peat doing well at a xc race or JA down hill

If you're talking about Julien Absalon there, and referring to my suggestion….

…I'm talking about his brother REMI ABSALON. Undoubtably one of the very best all-round off-road cyclists there is. He's No1 in the world at the (Euro-)Enduro discipline which is surely the best test of the all-round MTBer.
http://vimeo.com/6253358

Another vote for Lance Armstrong. Not just a one trick pony:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/08/news/armstrong-wins-leadville-100_96668

Are we talking clean or drug-fuelled here? Any suggestions for the former?

Contador on the road, although Cancellara is a definite contender to the throne, but lets be honest, he can just time trial phenomenally, he wins everything from solo breaks, which whilst stunning to watch isn't going to win him anything beyond a one day race.

Except that Cancellara has won the Tour du Suisse, Tour of Oman,etc.

Cancellara can time trial, and isn't the strongest climber, sounds like Indurain.