Cyclists

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.

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.

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.

Primož Roglič is a Slovenian racing cyclist who in 2017 became the first cyclist from his country to win a stage at Tour de France. He then went on to win the Vuelta a España for three successive years. Primož Roglič achieved international recognition at the 2020 Olympic Games where he won the gold medal in the time trial event.

Chris Hoy is a British racing driver and former track cyclist. A highly decorated Olympic cyclist, he is the recipient of six gold and one silver medals. He is also an 11-time World Champion. He announced his retirement from competitive cycling in 2013. He is also interested in motorsport and competed at the 2015 Race of Champions.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

A 3-time Olympian, Belgian cyclist Philippe Gilbert is best known for winning the 2012 World Road Race Championships. He is also one of only 2 cyclists who have won 3 Ardennes classics. After representing teams such as the BMC Racing Team and Quick-Step Floors, he switched to Lotto–Soudal.

Tom Boonen is a Belgian retired road bicycle racer who competed for Quick-Step Floors teams and the U.S. Postal Service between 2002 and 2017. He is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2005 UCI Road World Championships in Madrid. Tom Boonen was named Belgian Sportsman of the Year on three occasions during his career.

Belgian cyclist Greg Van Avermaet was born into a family of cyclists, with both his father and grandfather being cyclists. The Olympic gold medalist has represented Predictor–Lotto and the BMC Racing Team, before switching to the French cycling team AG2R Citroën Team. He specializes in classic cycle races.

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.

Alexander Kristoff is a Norwegian road bicycle racer best known for winning the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2017, he went on to win the silver medal at the World Championships as well as the gold medal at the European Road Cycling Championships. 

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.

Tadej Pogačar is a Slovenian cyclist best known for his bronze medal-winning performance in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the prestigious Tour de France in 2020 and 2021, achieving enormous fame among cycling enthusiasts around the world. Tadej Pogačar is the first Slovenian and the second-youngest winner of Tour de France.  

Nairo Quintana is a Colombian racing cyclist. A specialist climber, Quintana is renowned for his ability to launch attacks on ascents of steep gradient and his stamina to endure others' attacks. Considered the best Colombian road cyclist of all time, Nairo Quintana is also counted among the most successful and popular stage-racing riders of his generation.

Retired Belgian cyclist Johan Museeuw, also known as The Lion of Flanders, was regarded as a master of classic races. Apart from being an Olympian, he was also a 3-time winner of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix. He also recorded multiple Tour de France wins.

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.

Roger De Vlaeminck is a Belgian retired racing cyclist. One of the most talented racing cyclists of his generation, De Vlaeminck is best known for winning a gold medal for his country at the 1975 World Championships. He also won a silver medal in the same tournament. He was inducted into the Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame in 2002.

Mark Cavendish began cycling at an early age, joined his local club at 9, and got gifted a mountain bike at 13. The track cyclist is also one of the best road sprinters in the world. The MBE made headlines in 2021 for being robbed by four masked men.

Retired Belgian cyclist Freddy Maertens enjoyed success in phases. While he initially won numerous junior races and went on to become a Belgian and world champion, he was later plagued by debt and alcoholism. However, he bounced back later with a Tour de France green jersey and a World Championship win.

With six Olympic gold medals in her kitty, Laura Trott has become the most decorated female athlete from Britain in the Olympics. She is married to cyclist Jason Kenny, who is also an Olympic gold medalist. Surprisingly, born with asthma, she was advised by doctors not to take up sports.

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.

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.

The son of retired Belgian cyclist Patrick Evenepoel, Remco Evenepoel too is a skilled cyclist in his own right and an Olympian. While he began his sports career as a footballer with Anderlecht, he later switched to cycling. He now represents the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.

English sports broadcaster Phil Liggett is known for his commentary of the Tour de France and other cycling events. Though he had fancied a career as a cyclist earlier, he later chose sports journalism instead. He is now a wildlife conservationist, who protects rhinos in a South African game reserve.

English cyclist Paul Sherwen was raised in Kenya, where his father worked. Initially devoted to swimming, he had even competed in swimming contests in Kenya and Britain but deviated toward cycling at 16. Part of the group of cyclists known as the Foreign Legion, he later turned into a successful broadcaster, too.