Cyclists are the individuals who are engaged in cycling as a sport. When considered a sport, bicycle racing consists of various categories of racing such as road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, time trialling, track cycling, mountain bike racing and cycle speedway. Bicycle racing is an Olympic sport and is popular in several countries, especially in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. It is also a Summer Paralympic sport. International competitive cycling events are governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Bicycle racing as a sport is of relatively recent origins and developed during the later part of the 19th century. Riding a bicycle competitively is very challenging. Add to that the fact that bicycle racing is not as glamorous as other sports like football or basketball. Professional cyclists follow a rigorous training regime that includes several miles of cycling and endurance training sessions at the gym. They also engage in exercises such as running and hiking. Cyclists have to consume a disciplined diet that is rich in carbohydrates and proteins. Cycling is one of the most physiologically demanding sports and cyclists need endurance, speed, technique and skills to excel in this field. Read on to learn about the life and works of various famous cyclists from all over the world.
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Lance Armstrong became one of the most inspirational stories after he survived cancer and went on to win seven consecutive Tour de France races from 1999 to 2005. He was considered one of the greatest road racing cyclists ever before he was stripped of all of his achievements starting from August 1998 due to his involvement in a doping scandal.
Peter Sagan is a Slovak road bicycle racer. He is currently associated with Bora-Hansgrohe, a popular UCI WorldTeam. Widely regarded as one of cycling's greatest talents, Peter Sagan has won several prestigious championships over the course of his career. He has won UCI Road World Championships and European Championship among many other contests.
Eddy Merckx is a Belgian former road and track bicycle racer. Widely regarded as the most successful rider in competitive cycling history, Merckx achieved several important victories, such as 11 Grand Tours, three World Championships, and all five Monuments. He is also considered the greatest cyclist of all time. After retiring, he coached his national cycling team for 11 years.
Chris Froome is an English professional road racing cyclist best known for winning two bronze medals in the Olympic Games so far; he won the medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. In 2017, Froome won a bronze medal at the UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway. Froome has won many prestigious awards, such as the Vélo d'Or.
Bernard Hinault is a French former professional cyclist, often counted among the best cyclists of all time. He has 147 professional victories, including five in the Tour de France, to his name. In 1986, he was given the Legion of Honour; he retired the same year. He turned to farming after his retirement.
Greg LeMond is an American former road racing cyclist and anti-doping advocate. Widely regarded as the greatest American cyclist ever, LeMond is a three-time Tour de France winner and a two-time Road Race World Championship winner. Greg LeMond is also regarded as an icon of the sport's globalization and is counted among the greatest all-round cyclists of the present era.
Nicknamed Spartacus, Swiss retired cyclist and Olympic gold medalist Fabian Cancellara is a four-time world time trial champion. He also won both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix thrice. He had started cycling at 13, after finding an old family bike. He was also good at football and skiing.
Tour de France-winning Australian cyclist Cadel Evans is also a four-time Olympian. His career took off when he earned a scholarship to the mountain biking program of the Australian Institute of Sport. An avid philanthropist, he has an adopted son from Ethiopia, along with a son from his second wife.
Jacques Anquetil was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first person to win five Tour de France races. At the time of his retirement, Anquetil had won eight Grand Tours, which was a record at that time. He was also a controversial figure who spoke openly about his dependency on drugs to compete in races.
Welsh racing cyclist Geraint Thomas is a 2-time Olympic gold medal winner, apart from being a 3-time world champion and the 2018 Tour de France winner. Starting cycling at age 10, he is now an OBE and has also bagged numerous endorsement deals, such as the one with Continental Tyres.
Of his 16-year-long stint as a professional cyclist, Sean Kelly has spent 5 years as the world’s number one racer. A specialist in classic races, he was the Paris–Nice winner for 7 consecutive times. Regarded as the second-best cyclist ever, he later had a successful career as a Eurosport commentator.
Laurent Fignon was a French professional road bicycle racer. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984. He became the FICP World No. 1 in 1989 and also won the Giro d'Italia the same year. One of the most successful cyclists of his era, he won many classic races. He retired in 1993.
British road and track cyclist Bradley Wiggins scripted history by becoming the first British racer to win the Tour de France, in 2012. Though born to Australian track cyclist Gary Wiggins, he was initially a fan of football but turned to cycling after watching the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
One of Italy’s best-known paracyclists and race car drivers, Alex Zanardi has four Paralympic gold medals in his kitty, apart from his 12 World Championship gold medals. Following a 2001 race car accident, he lost both his legs. The former Formula One racer has won CART Championships, too.
Raymond Poulidor, or Pou-Pou, was an acclaimed French cyclist who had a life-long association with Mercier. His lack of wins at the Tour de France, in spite of 8 podium finishes, earned him the tag of The Eternal Second. Born to farmers, he took up racing at 16 after reading a sports magazine.
Eric Heiden is a former track cyclist, road cyclist, and long track speed skater. At the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden won five individual gold medals, setting one world record and four Olympic records in the process. The most successful athlete at the 1980 Winter Olympics, Heiden won more gold medals than all other nations except East Germany and Soviet Union.
Legendary British cyclist Beryl Burton dominated the British women’s racing scene from the 1950s to the 1980s. Apart from being a 5-time world champion, she set a new women’s record for the 25-mile time trial, which surpassed the men’s record for 2 years. Her achievements inspired a radio play.
Floyd Landis is an American former road racing cyclist who won the 2006 Tour de France before being stripped off of his title after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. In 2010, he revealed that many other top riders including Lance Armstrong had doped as well. His revelation helped accelerate the Lance Armstrong doping case.
Danny MacAskill is a Scottish professional mountain bike trial cyclist who works for Santa Cruz Bicycles. MacAskill, who achieved popularity after showcasing his skills on YouTube, went on to feature in several commercials and promotional videos for brands like Leica Camera. Danny MacAskill is also credited for performing the stunts in the 2012 American action thriller film Premium Rush.
French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe is the brother of another prominent cyclist, Bryan Alaphilippe. The son of an orchestra conductor, he loved playing the drums as a child, but switched to cycling at age 13. Named France’s best sportsman more than once, he is the current UCI World Road Champion.
Tom Simpson was a British professional cyclist who specialized in pursuit racing. One of most successful and popular cyclists of Britain, Simpson is best remembered for winning a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He then went on to win a gold medal at the 1965 UCI Road World Championships in San Sebastián, Spain.
Known for his boyish looks and his reputation as a mountain climber, Richard Virenque is a three-time Olympian who has also won the Tour de France King of the Mountains contest 7 times. He was involved in the Festina doping scandal, and though he wasn’t implicated, he later admitted to doping.
David Millar is a former racing cyclist who rode for the professional road bicycle racing team Cofidis from 1997 to 2004. Millar won two World Championship silver medals in 2001 and 2010. He also won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Since serving his two-year ban for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2006, Millar has been an anti-doping campaigner.
Known as Jaja, for his love for wine, Laurent Jalabert is a former world number one cyclist from France, who, unfortunately, never won a Tour de France title. With his Vuelta a España win in 1995, he became the second cyclist, after Eddy Merckx, to win three jerseys in a Grand Tour.
Glenn Curtiss was an American motorcycling and aviation pioneer. He is credited with founding the U.S. aircraft industry. He is also credited with forming the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company which merged with the Wright Aeronautical to form Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1929. Glenn Curtiss’ company played a major role in the years leading up to the First World War.
Son of cyclist Johny Schleck, Andy Schleck is a cyclist from Luxembourg who has been associated with teams such as Leopard Trek. The 2010 Tour de France winner has also been ranked second in the race twice. Following his retirement, he now owns a bike shop and a souvenir museum.
One of Britain’s greatest cyclists, Chris Boardman is an Olympic gold medalist and has three Tour de France stage wins in his kitty. Nicknamed The Professor, for his preparation for his races, he now produces cycles under the brands Boardman Bikes and Boardman Elite. He is also Greater Manchester’s Transport Commissioner.
George Hincapie is a former road bicycle racer. As a domestique for Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans, Hincapie played a major role in helping Contador and Evans win the 2007 and 2011 Tour de France, respectively. Hincapie was also an important domestique of Lance Armstrong. In 2012, George Hincapie admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs between 2004 and 2006.
Graeme Obree is a Scottish racing cyclist best known for using a bicycle which he had built using parts from an old washing machine. Obree won two World Championship gold medals in 1993 and 1995. He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. His life was dramatized in the 2006 movie The Flying Scotsman.
Tyler Hamilton is an American former road bicycle racer who played an important role as a teammate of Lance Armstrong in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours de France. Hamilton is the only American to win one of the five classic cycle races known as the Monuments. In 2004, he was suspended for two years after failing a dope test.
