Tag:

Rider History

Men's Cycling

Nairo Quintana career retrospective: from San Luca to Giro and Vuelta glory

Nairo Quintana will roll away from Ferrara on Saturday knowing that, for the first time in more than 15 years, there is no next...
Men's Cycling

Walter Godefroot: the Belgian Classics great who thrived in the Merckx era

Walter Godefroot belonged to a generation of Belgian riders for whom the biggest one-day races were every bit as important as the Tour de...
Men's Cycling

José De Cauwer: from Tour domestique to Belgian cycling’s trusted voice

José De Cauwer has occupied several different positions in Belgian cycling without ever fitting neatly into one of them. He was a professional rider...
Men's Cycling

Lucien Van Impe: a pure climber in an era that still rewarded endurance first

Lucien Van Impe belongs to a particular line of Tour de France champions: small, light climbers whose authority came from the mountains rather than...
Men's Cycling

Michael Boogerd: the Dutch fan favourite who kept the spring alive

Michael Boogerd occupied an unusual place in Dutch cycling. He was never the most decorated rider of his era, but for more than a...
Women's Cycling

Irina Kalentieva – two-time world champion and Olympic mountain bike medallist

Irina Kalentieva was one of the defining cross-country mountain bikers of the 2000s and early 2010s. A two-time elite world champion, Olympic bronze medallist...
Men's Cycling

Tony Rominger: huge engines, steep climbs and a career that overlapped awkwardly with greatness

Tony Rominger built one of the strongest stage-racing records of the 1990s without ever becoming the rider most associated with the decade. He won...
Women's Cycling

Noemi Cantele – a classy all-rounder from Italy’s deep women’s cycling generation

Noemi Cantele belonged to an Italian generation so deep that being one of the best riders in the world did not always make you...
Men's Cycling

Gianni Bugno: grace under pressure in one of cycling’s most turbulent eras

Gianni Bugno’s best seasons produced a combination few riders manage across an entire career. He won the Giro d’Italia, Milano-Sanremo and the Wincanton Classic...
Women's Cycling

Hanka Kupfernagel: a multi-discipline force long before that became fashionable

Hanka Kupfernagel was crossing cycling's disciplinary boundaries decades before doing so became a celebrated part of the modern sport. She was the first women's...
Men's Cycling

Joop Zoetemelk: patience, durability and a career built on always being there

Joop Zoetemelk is still too often introduced through the races he did not win. Six second places at the Tour de France became the...
Men's Cycling

Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle: the late-blooming Paris-Roubaix winner who refused to fade away

Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle was 37 when he finally won Paris-Roubaix and 38 when he returned to the Roubaix velodrome a year later and did it...