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Best Cyclist of All Time?
The League is switching to preferential voting for the upcoming Board Elections. To test out our new system, we thought it would be fun to vote for the best cyclist of all time. This will be the same method we will use for the 2011 Board elections and allows each member to have their voice heard clearly — and ensures that our board members have the support of our national audience.
Here’s how it works:
1. A member logs in and votes on www.bikeleague.org, ranking all the cyclists in order of preference.
2. The cyclist with the least number of first votes is eliminated. Votes for that cyclist are redistributed according to the voters’ second choices.
3. Once again, the cyclist with the least number of votes is eliminated, and those votes are then spread among the remaining cyclist by who the voter chose second (or third, if their second choice has already been eliminated).
4. This process continues until there is just one cyclist remaining. Stay tuned to see who the best cyclist is – ever. We will post the results online and in the next issue of American Bicyclist.
Meghan Cahill
League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
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July 30th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
How is Sheldon brown not on this list? Or Eugene Christophe?
July 31st, 2010 at 3:06 am
[...] was actually crocheted art. Biking through New York, with soundtrack. LAB members can vote on the best bicyclist of all time; I’ve got to go with the Cannibal, and maybe Jeannie Longo a close second. A day after Contador [...]
July 31st, 2010 at 3:21 am
[...] was actually crocheted art. Biking through New York, with soundtrack. LAB members can vote on the best bicyclist of all time; I’ve got to go with the Cannibal, and maybe Jeannie Longo a close second. A day after Contador [...]
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:39 am
If we’re talking about greatest racer, the clear choice is Jeannie Longo. She has the most impressive palmares, and continues to win in her 50s. Eddy Merckx comes in 2nd. Everyone else is a distant third and further.
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 am
Yep. Jeannie raced here at the Tour de Los Alamos in 2009.
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Major Taylor has to be the best. He not only was dominant from 1900-1910, but he was dominant while under-going terrible discrimination. He would enter races where the main goal of the other riders was to keep him from winning. Even with just about everyone against him, he was the champion.
You must ask yourself how well any of the other racers would have competed while also fighting segregation? The impact on Taylor was difficulties traveling to races, staying near races, and having his life threatened on training rides before races.
Major Taylor is the greatest cyclist of all time.
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Are you working on making AMTrack bicycle friendly?
My dream is to board a train, load the bike in a bike car, get off and ride a day or two, and reboard a train along the same route. Repeat this as often as is needed until the ultimate destination is reached.
August 2nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I vote for Sheldon!
August 2nd, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Why have you restricted the list to “just” stage racers? Why not include Race Across America, etc? In that case, the vote would have to go to Lon Haldeman.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:06 am
Why restrict this to racers of any kind? I ride for joy, for health, for cooperation, not competition. I vote for the guy who rode his way back to health and got others to do likewise, or taught cycling to inner-city kids, or built a bike trail for the rest of us. They are the real heroes of cycling.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:36 am
Nice idea. Just a couple f of thoughts. Not all cyclists that are great ride the tour. Where are the women? How about major Taylor or my recent hero frank Lenz?
Where does one sign in???
ThomAs Lais.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 am
It’s Lance Armstrong. Think about it. Consider what he came back from. In 1996, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, he had only a 15% chance of survival. He not only beat cancer to win the Tour seven consecutive times (and no, he did NOT cheat!!), but he has inspired millions of others who are fighting cancer. None of the others have accomplished this.
August 9th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I second that Major Taylor vote. If he would have been willing to race on Sunday, he would have been world champion 10 or 12 times over. He was religous and refused to race on Sunday. As it stood, he won the only Saturday race available to him, then the promoters made sure they held world’s only on Sunday after that.
August 25th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
LAB same on you for not including an equal number of women! What women dont’ race? You’d think that was the case to see your post. SHAME ON YOUR for being so sexist.
August 25th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
LAB shame on you for not including an equal number of women! What women dont’ race? You’d think that was the case, to see your post. SHAME ON YOUR for being so sexist intentional or not.
April 27th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Thanks a ton for posting this,added you to my RSS reader.
June 9th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
It’s way too difficult to find sharp sites on topic, but you look like you know what you are doing!
July 18th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
There are some interesting cut-off dates in this article however I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There may be some validity however I will take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well