How do u put Pantani into this list without even mentioning Lance , not like Armstrong was the best ever lol, both used PEDs so wtf? Also wheres Alberto Contador? Like yes Froome is really good but look at the teams Alberto had with him and what teams does Team Sky had/have/will have in the future. And please dont start that in 2009 Alberto had Levi,Kloden and Armstrong. The whole team was working for Lance so it was basically Alberto alone vs the whole pack. And in 2007 Levi was the leader too. I really find this kinda weird.
Using Strava Toolbox you can easily identify just how prolific Emma Pooley is as a climber. She owns 3,023 QOM's on Strava and if your curious that makes her the #1 climber on the platform. Yes that is 3,023 QOM titles across all categories of climbs. HC - 554 Cat. 1 - 220 Cat. 2 - 584 Cat. 3 - 565 Cat. 4 - 682 Minor Climbs - 328 Walls - 90 She's my HEROINE!
Emma pooley is an amazing climber, but her Koms are only in the female category, although she easily surpasses most men both in Power and climbing prowess Unfortunately, a climb is gender free , simply A to B fastest wins.
@@markevns9983 Your absolutely correct in saying that climbs are gender free. However, this is not a video about climbs. This is a video about climbers. Climbers can be separated into two categories......Male & Female. Emma Pooley is one of the greatest climbers in the world and her dominance over the latter category is unbelievable and something that inspires me and many like me. I think I understand what you were trying to say but it also didn't need to be said.
@@first_namelast_name5139 Silver in time trial. And more medals in her career but again in time trials. Where's the "climbing" skills? Why she has to be classified as an all time climber?
Another superb climber I would have included in the list is Alberto Contador, his speed on the mountains is undeniable but even more impressive is his magnificent style. I don't think that anyone in the world of cycling ever looked so elegant whilst climbing. Btw guys great vid as always!
glad emma got some well deserved recognition. she’s personally one of the riders i most admire, even though si still claims the spot as my favorite presenter. dan is just a legend and exists in his own realm. did you know he used to race for the cervélo test team??
NO ARMSTRONG, but Pantani is included. Please be fair. Armstrong was the dominant climber of his time, which happened to be a time when most teams had massive doping programs. When are we going to get over the fact that Armstrong beat the Euros at their own game.
I’m very surprised that Lucien Van Impe didn’t make this group. Six Tour De France KoM’s, Two Gyro KoM’s and a GC win in the TdF. He was the dominant climber of the 70’s. Completed 15 TdF’s. With Palmares like that how could he not be on this list? The only climber I’ve seen who was better in my life was Pantani and Pantani definitely doped. Impe, on the other hand never failed a drug test and never refused a drug test and retired before the advent of EPO. You do injustice to the man.
Yep, Van Impe should be on the list, he was a legend. But the doping thing... meh... Every professional cyclist since the first TDF has doped in one way or another. Until Van Impe's time they used a million things (that we know): cocaine, caffeine, strychnine, chloroform, trimethyl, nitroglycerine, alcohol, amphetamines, solucamphre, Ronicol, phenylisopropylamine, hormones, retransfusion, Palfium, Reactivan, coramine, cortisone, steroids, pemoline, testosterone, Methylphenidate and synacten (until 1983 last of Van Impe's good years). Half of those things were "legal" at first, that means, they didn't know cyclists used them or they didn't know how to test for them. On top of that, there have been many times in which they caught them with clean pee in condoms and stuff like that, maybe Van Impe had a flawless technique for that. :P
The fact that Dan actually knows of all these people makes his read SO much better than anyone else would have done. I think it's awesome how much he loves the nobility of cycling and honestly, I'm still new to the sport and I must say he, and GCN in general, are a reason I actually engaged with it. You guys made the history, the science, and maintenance manage-able. A few hundred comments in I doubt anyone even reads this from the network, but if you do, thank you all, with all my heart...cycling has improved every facet of my life and surpassed all previous hobbies by a significant magnitude and I owe a HUGE part of that to your content and videos.
Can of worms: so you talk about Pantani who was thrown out of a grand tour for doping as soon as the tour started testing, but gloss over and ignore Lance Armstrong - presumably because he was doping. I am not a fan of Armstrong (mostly because he seems like a jerk - doping or no), but he raced, he beat a lot of people who were also doping at the time. Some consistency seems in order. Either include people who are known dopers (and there are SO many of them) or leave them ALL out. Or maybe it's time to revisit this issue on one of the shows - a podcast on this would be very interesting
Even well into Pantani's descent he was able to climb so well he struck the fear of God into Lance. Pantani at his peak was so strong nobody got to decide if he attacks stuck or not, they just had to go into damage control.
Dude come on we all know why Pantani was out of the race! Bets with high profit were on him not to finish the Giro from prisoned mafia people! Lance was a cheater as everybody else but his behavior and all his pro carrier were distasting that's why he is not in the list!
I think Alberto Contador was a better climber at his best years at astana and in 2014 than Froome. He also rode very elegantly every kid would mimic contadors climbing style this also means something
"what Marco did today was bad for me but extraordinary for cycling" Jan Ullrich said at the end of the legendary galibier stage of the tour 98. When he literally saved a tour that risked not even arriving in Paris due to continuous doping scandals during that edition. Jean Marie LeBlanc thanked him no longer inviting him from 2001 onwards.
Here it is. This can be enough to tell what Marco's life was. The most exciting sportsman I've ever seen. one too special to feel good in this world.
Pantani was great. But if he had worn a helmet in the climbs, he would never have been that iconic. Thats not a popular opinion, but i miss the days when they rode the last climb without a helmet. There were never a bad crash, because they are riding that slow in the mountains.
@@jakobkristensen9445 Huh? " i miss the days when they rode the last climb without a helmet. There were never a bad crash, because they are riding that slow in the mountains". Pantani has the three fastest times at Alpe D'uez and all were set without a helmet. Pantani's record of 36'40" in 1995 riding a 9kg bike means Geraint Thomas's 2018 ascent with the benefit of the Sky train would be 1 km down the mountain when Pantani crossed the finish line. Nothing slow about that!
@@jasonstevenson110 You didn't got my point. I wasn't talking about his results or his speed/level. I just don't think he would have been THAT LIKABLE. He would not have been such a big icon or such an enigma. Nowadays they are all wearing helmets and sunglasses. The intimacy is gone. They should drop their helmets at the last climb (only if it ends on a mountain) and they should not wear sunglasses. You can't see their eyes and their face. Thats a shame.
@@jakobkristensen9445 Yes you said "iconic". But Marco was definitely very likeable and everyone loved his victory in the 1998 TdF being the last rider to achieve the Giro Tour double. As for helmets, yes I misunderstood. But they are here to stay and never forget Fabio Casartelli.
@@jasonstevenson110 He was great, yes. Probably the finest climber since the likes of Coppi, Gaul and Bahamontes. I agree they should wear helmets in every other case, but in a mountain top finish they can take of their helmets without any risk. Even the pros are riding slow on the great climbs. The Casartelli case (like many dramatic crashes) was on a downhill. On a final climb they will never be that fast or get hurt that bad.
Andy Schleck was a phenomenal climber, just always struggled to put it all together because of his extremely poor time trialling, he used to go up mountains like no other. If you make a list of greatest battles or rivalries you have to have the schleck vs contador battle on stage 17 in the 2010 tour de france up the tourmalet, with the infamous "look". This tour de france and this moment in particular to pin point it was the moment i fell in love with cycling. the heart and grit both riders showed, and the way they together decimated the rest of the field was incredible.
why no Contador mate? in all your videos you guys stated the fact that hes the one of the legends of the sport. his style, his passion damn thats a bummer list
@@HarveyPekarsGhost not a matter of opinion but objective fact as best as one can understand given the difficulties of comparing different eras etc ... just because everyone is entitled to an opinion does not mean all opinions are equally valid ... "your opinion" is a very dumb response. You are probably one of those fanboys who only ever followed the tdf and have little deep understanding of the sport
@@puzzlespillet I don't care. Rasmussen wasn't that talented. Ask anyone who rode against him in MTB. Then re watch his embarrassing capitulation in the 2005 TdF time trial. Obviously he didn't want a repeat so he went all out doping in 2007 and git rightly pulled out of the race by his own team for being ridiculous. Doping isn't what makes professional racing good to watch.
@@jasonstevenson110 but everybody Who won anything backthen went nuts with doping, why is that different for Michael? I remember that tt 😂 but the year he was kicked out of the tour, nobody was near him. And they where doped to.
@@puzzlespillet Agree, they quickly forget about their own countrymen. Everyone here shouts Contador, but their short-term memory forgets that he was deprived of his Tour De France victories when he drove for Astana. Who exactly took over Rasmussen's yellow jersey? Alberto Contador. Yup.
Lucien Van Impe - 5 polka dot jerseys (tied with Bahamontes), 8 TdF stage wins, competed in 15 TdF and finished them all, on TdF podium 5 times, 9 TdF finishes in the top 6; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 6th, never failed or refused a drug test, (unlike a guy who topped the list and eventually died of an overdose).
And now it is Pogacar. Basically breaking every climbing record on every climb he rides on, winning two KOM jerseys and two GC jerseys, while being long before his prime. I am a little doubtful of him, but he is the greatest climber ever in the making.
Pogacar is not the best climber in the world. He is the best all rounder in the world, but Jonas Vingegaard is a much better climber but nowhere near as good a rider overall Pogacar is just as much a classics and one day specialist as a GT rider. Jonas Vingegaard is pure GT and right now the absolute best
I thought Tom Last was considered one of the greater climbers of his generation? with his incredible ability to suffer surely he has to be in this list.
Pantani is my all time Favourite Climber 😅 Like Froomie . However I would have Contador in the Mix as well. Alberto was my 2nd all time Favourite Climber. Froome 32d . The Aussie TdeF winner Cadel could climb but unfortunately was a real grinder & as an Australian l really ❤ the way Ritchie Porte Climbed . Nice presentation 👏 👌
@@finnmurden490 What you mean he had pita grams of clembutorol in his body that wasnt even enough to enhance performance. As well as being found on a rest day at the end of the second week of the 2010 tour kinda shows he didnt intend to injest clembutorol.
Why isn't Armstrong in that list ? If it is due to doping scandals, then Pantani shouldn't have been there and if it is because he is not a pure climber, then Froome shouldn't have been there.
Hot take: Pantani was damaged by living in the period of time where everybody was drugged up. If you look at all the people who were winning Grand Tours in the 90s you have Indurain, Ullrich, Riis, Berzin, Rominger, Zülle, Tonkov: big guys, time trial beasts, competitive on the mountains only thanks to a blood that carried way more oxygen than the norm. Pantani is the only proper climber who was able to beat those guys in that period of time: of course he used to dope but everybody was doing it and probably gaining more advantages than him. If he was born ten years later he would've won more GTs than he actually did, and he would probably be alive right now.
with Marco they were extremely brutal here in Italy, a mixture of politics, media pressure, trials, exclusions from tours, with the mafia involvement up to his death if you ask me. Nobody would have survived that 😢.
So does Hinault and LeMond but Impe is the best climber I’ve seen. If he came of his seat on a climb the rest of the riders could kiss his rear wheel good bye. I’m rather shocked Impe didn’t make this list. He’s on most folks top 10 climber list.
Emma Pooley has also won the duathlon world champs four times on a super hilly course in Switzerland. She's unstoppable...literally - never beaten at this event
For people that are saying that Pantani was never found guilty of doping while Lance was .... LOL ? I mean Pantani died cause of cocaine... i mean what else do u need to know about him. Dude was doping like crazy. And there were a lot of times his blood had high levels of haematocrit lol . He was even DQ for that once or how many times .... just cmon now. EVERYONE WAS DOPING BACK IN THE DAYS... maybe not the guys that were just bringing water to Lance but the Top30 guys and sprinters/time trialists/classic specialists.... they were full of it.
The pic in which you showed Bahamontes monument is wrong (4:22), that is Lucho Herrera monument in Fusagasuga, Herrera's hometown. By the way, I completely agree with your list!
0.9 the most Underrated cyclist ever. A true force of Nature,the Great Portuguese Joaquim Agostinho who started his professional career at 25 years old without any knowledge abaut professional cycling. But like the Force of Nature that man was,soon he became very well knowed and feared in the Peloton for his sheer explosive power , specialy on the most hard Mountains. Did won several stages on the Tour,Giro and Vuelta. 3 times on the podium of the Tour de France. Had a very sad and premature death because one dog and the lack of helmet. The potential of this man was never completely explored,because he wasn't a team racer,but one man show. Great picture.0.9.
If Contador was switched in place of Froome it would be an acceptable list. Lance shouldn't be in the list for the same reason Froome shouldn't they are more all rounders than climbers.
froome.... really? top 6? dear me... everyone in the comments mentioning Contador is right to do so (amongst others). If you're talking about riders from the same time period and you leave out the guy who stormed up the Mortirolo a few years back absolutely crushing people along the way, i can't even take this list remotely seriously. i can't even name a single climb anywhere near that level from froome honestly and i'd dare anyone to do to. Contador has a bunch of these....you don't have to add contador at all, but if you add froome instead, you've gone off the rails.
How can we take this video serious if they don't mention Van Impe? Ridiculous. And if you mention Froome, where is Eddy merckx? Not a typical climber but almost unbeatable in the mountains for a few years. And Fausto Coppi? Yes, I'm Belgian but hey, not mentioning those three riders when it's about climbing is incredible. At least we know the cycling history unlike the guy in the video.
Contador is one on my list. Not only was he a great climber but I love his attacking style. Attacking performances in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro come to mind.
@@justinkimber9456 agreed, but no one will touch Lance with a 10 foot pole. Why can Pantani be celebrated but not Lance? Pantani wasn't anything close to clean either. No way Pantani did Alpe D'huez in 37'35" on a 8+ Kg bike clean. Why can everyone fondly remember him while Lance is forever "he who must not be named?"
Pantani has the fastest 3 times on AdH and the fastest time on Ventoux. At his peak he is the best climber ever. Yes, enhanced but is gotta appreciate the performance.
Yeah this channel is full of crap. Greatest climber of the last 15 years and we don't put him on the list because we've got our heads up our asses and have to put a fellow Britsh chap in there.
Alberto Contador, the absolute best climber and no one, no one, rides like him, that elegance, that style, that light feather (and don't get me started on doping, THEY ALL DID, and Froome is the number one on the list, just never got caught..every single one of them did and they had to...)
It's difficult to dissect into special cathegories like that. You can rank the greatest Grand Tour Classification Riders by using their wins and podiums in the GTs, but to choose the greatest climbers is different. People like Armstrong, Froome, Ullrich, Indurain, Lemond, Anquetil, Hinault etc. were bigger riders with great climbing skills, but they were complete GC guys because they also were good at time trials. When we are talking pure climbers, Im thinking of small climbers with mediocre or bad time trialing skills like Heras, Simoni, The Schleck Brothers, Pantani, Rasmussen, Quintana, Virenque etc. were pure climbers. The same for riders like Bahamontes, Van Impe, Ocana, Herrera etc. before them.
Lucho Herrera the best Colombian and Latin American climber of all time and the father of the famous "escarabajos (climbing beetles)" which is how Colombian pure climbers are called. My list is: Lucien Van Impe Alberto Contador Gino Bartali Luis Herrera Federico Bahamontes Charly Gaul * Pantani
O my goodness it so sad It is forgetting Rishard Viranque. he was winning a five times in King of mountain classification. Any way you are doing well and you are educative. Thank you very much
Speaking of Emma... Why is she no longer a presenter on GCN? If it was announced in a show I must have missed that episode. She was a great presenter on GCN and I thought the workout videos she made were some of the best for the content and explanations she provided.
Who do you think should also be named here?
Primož Roglič
Taking into account that Pantani won both Giro&Tour on EPO, makes rather controversial to put on this list...
How do u put Pantani into this list without even mentioning Lance , not like Armstrong was the best ever lol, both used PEDs so wtf? Also wheres Alberto Contador? Like yes Froome is really good but look at the teams Alberto had with him and what teams does Team Sky had/have/will have in the future. And please dont start that in 2009 Alberto had Levi,Kloden and Armstrong. The whole team was working for Lance so it was basically Alberto alone vs the whole pack. And in 2007 Levi was the leader too. I really find this kinda weird.
Contador and maybe Nibali.
Lance, the GOAT.
Using Strava Toolbox you can easily identify just how prolific Emma Pooley is as a climber. She owns 3,023 QOM's on Strava and if your curious that makes her the #1 climber on the platform. Yes that is 3,023 QOM titles across all categories of climbs.
HC - 554
Cat. 1 - 220
Cat. 2 - 584
Cat. 3 - 565
Cat. 4 - 682
Minor Climbs - 328
Walls - 90
She's my HEROINE!
Emma pooley is an amazing climber, but her Koms are only in the female category, although she easily surpasses most men both in Power and climbing prowess Unfortunately, a climb is gender free , simply A to B fastest wins.
@@markevns9983 Your absolutely correct in saying that climbs are gender free. However, this is not a video about climbs. This is a video about climbers. Climbers can be separated into two categories......Male & Female. Emma Pooley is one of the greatest climbers in the world and her dominance over the latter category is unbelievable and something that inspires me and many like me. I think I understand what you were trying to say but it also didn't need to be said.
Who is she? Why doesnt she compete with the best?
You must be fucking kidding me, comparing her (the average joe) against the pros.
Nuno Deodato she medaled in the 2008 Olympics
@@first_namelast_name5139 Silver in time trial. And more medals in her career but again in time trials. Where's the "climbing" skills? Why she has to be classified as an all time climber?
Another superb climber I would have included in the list is Alberto Contador, his speed on the mountains is undeniable but even more impressive is his magnificent style. I don't think that anyone in the world of cycling ever looked so elegant whilst climbing.
Btw guys great vid as always!
Excellent point!
Mikel landa
Go watch some old clips of Frank Vandenbroucke at his peak. Poetry in motion
The most elegant climber of all time, Alberto Contador. He should have been in the list. He's right there among the best.
I totally agree with you. Contador has the best style on a bike. And what I like most in him is his ability of attacking at any moment
People forget that if he was oke nobody could follow him. Froome, andy schleck and quintana and so on
Kamran Hashmi i would put contador at second place, pantani the first because his way was art, not sport...
Fausto Coppi is the most elegant climber of all time!
They seem to have left off all the modern era known dopers
glad emma got some well deserved recognition. she’s personally one of the riders i most admire, even though si still claims the spot as my favorite presenter. dan is just a legend and exists in his own realm. did you know he used to race for the cervélo test team??
The remark about Dan - nasty, nasty (but funny)
Where’s Ema btw?
NO ARMSTRONG, but Pantani is included. Please be fair. Armstrong was the dominant climber of his time, which happened to be a time when most teams had massive doping programs. When are we going to get over the fact that Armstrong beat the Euros at their own game.
Yes, he did. He was the biggest doper of them all.
In contrast to most other cheaters, all signs point to Armstrong being a massive asshole.
Pantani was better.
Pantani at his peak was a better climber - Armstrong's words
Why do you make it as if it is a "US vs Euro" thing ?
I’m very surprised that Lucien Van Impe didn’t make this group. Six Tour De France KoM’s, Two Gyro KoM’s and a GC win in the TdF. He was the dominant climber of the 70’s. Completed 15 TdF’s. With Palmares like that how could he not be on this list? The only climber I’ve seen who was better in my life was Pantani and Pantani definitely doped. Impe, on the other hand never failed a drug test and never refused a drug test and retired before the advent of EPO.
You do injustice to the man.
You are 100% right....
Van Impe is one of the greatest!! He 's of the same category as Bahamontes and Pantani.
Yep, Van Impe should be on the list, he was a legend.
But the doping thing... meh... Every professional cyclist since the first TDF has doped in one way or another. Until Van Impe's time they used a million things (that we know): cocaine, caffeine, strychnine, chloroform, trimethyl, nitroglycerine, alcohol, amphetamines, solucamphre, Ronicol, phenylisopropylamine, hormones, retransfusion, Palfium, Reactivan, coramine, cortisone, steroids, pemoline, testosterone, Methylphenidate and synacten (until 1983 last of Van Impe's good years). Half of those things were "legal" at first, that means, they didn't know cyclists used them or they didn't know how to test for them. On top of that, there have been many times in which they caught them with clean pee in condoms and stuff like that, maybe Van Impe had a flawless technique for that. :P
@@hptator The irony is that some of the drugs they used in the 70’s, particularly amphetamines, don’t really improve athletic performance.
@@Mottleydude1 yeah, tell that to Simpson... :(
The fact that Dan actually knows of all these people makes his read SO much better than anyone else would have done. I think it's awesome how much he loves the nobility of cycling and honestly, I'm still new to the sport and I must say he, and GCN in general, are a reason I actually engaged with it. You guys made the history, the science, and maintenance manage-able. A few hundred comments in I doubt anyone even reads this from the network, but if you do, thank you all, with all my heart...cycling has improved every facet of my life and surpassed all previous hobbies by a significant magnitude and I owe a HUGE part of that to your content and videos.
underrated comment sir
My favorite is Gino Bartali, 7 times best climber of the Giro
Can of worms: so you talk about Pantani who was thrown out of a grand tour for doping as soon as the tour started testing, but gloss over and ignore Lance Armstrong - presumably because he was doping. I am not a fan of Armstrong (mostly because he seems like a jerk - doping or no), but he raced, he beat a lot of people who were also doping at the time. Some consistency seems in order. Either include people who are known dopers (and there are SO many of them) or leave them ALL out. Or maybe it's time to revisit this issue on one of the shows - a podcast on this would be very interesting
Even well into Pantani's descent he was able to climb so well he struck the fear of God into Lance.
Pantani at his peak was so strong nobody got to decide if he attacks stuck or not, they just had to go into damage control.
Dude come on we all know why Pantani was out of the race! Bets with high profit were on him not to finish the Giro from prisoned mafia people! Lance was a cheater as everybody else but his behavior and all his pro carrier were distasting that's why he is not in the list!
www.usatoday.com/story/sports/cycling/2013/07/24/cycling-probe-doping-by-pantani-ullrich-in-1998/2582769/
Contador!!!
Marco Pantani was the best without any doubt!
No Contador?
I think Alberto Contador was a better climber at his best years at astana and in 2014 than Froome. He also rode very elegantly every kid would mimic contadors climbing style this also means something
Well happy to see Emma Pooley included, concur fully, she's a legend!
Seriously, Mara Abbott will shit on Pooley any day of the week. Pooley's good, but she's nowhere the best climber on womens peloton.
There's no contador but pantani and froome? No armstrong if pantani is here and merkcx? I can't live with this list.
Pulkit Sharma You don’t have to.
Presta chuck
Lol!!!! 👏
"what Marco did today was bad for me but extraordinary for cycling" Jan Ullrich said at the end of the legendary galibier stage of the tour 98. When he literally saved a tour that risked not even arriving in Paris due to continuous doping scandals during that edition. Jean Marie LeBlanc thanked him no longer inviting him from 2001 onwards.
Here it is. This can be enough to tell what Marco's life was. The most exciting sportsman I've ever seen. one too special to feel good in this world.
Pantani was great. But if he had worn a helmet in the climbs, he would never have been that iconic. Thats not a popular opinion, but i miss the days when they rode the last climb without a helmet. There were never a bad crash, because they are riding that slow in the mountains.
@@jakobkristensen9445 Huh? " i miss the days when they rode the last climb without a helmet. There were never a bad crash, because they are riding that slow in the mountains".
Pantani has the three fastest times at Alpe D'uez and all were set without a helmet. Pantani's record of 36'40" in 1995 riding a 9kg bike means Geraint Thomas's 2018 ascent with the benefit of the Sky train would be 1 km down the mountain when Pantani crossed the finish line. Nothing slow about that!
@@jasonstevenson110 You didn't got my point. I wasn't talking about his results or his speed/level. I just don't think he would have been THAT LIKABLE. He would not have been such a big icon or such an enigma.
Nowadays they are all wearing helmets and sunglasses. The intimacy is gone. They should drop their helmets at the last climb (only if it ends on a mountain) and they should not wear sunglasses. You can't see their eyes and their face. Thats a shame.
@@jakobkristensen9445 Yes you said "iconic". But Marco was definitely very likeable and everyone loved his victory in the 1998 TdF being the last rider to achieve the Giro Tour double. As for helmets, yes I misunderstood. But they are here to stay and never forget Fabio Casartelli.
@@jasonstevenson110 He was great, yes. Probably the finest climber since the likes of Coppi, Gaul and Bahamontes.
I agree they should wear helmets in every other case, but in a mountain top finish they can take of their helmets without any risk. Even the pros are riding slow on the great climbs. The Casartelli case (like many dramatic crashes) was on a downhill. On a final climb they will never be that fast or get hurt that bad.
Andy Schleck was a phenomenal climber, just always struggled to put it all together because of his extremely poor time trialling, he used to go up mountains like no other. If you make a list of greatest battles or rivalries you have to have the schleck vs contador battle on stage 17 in the 2010 tour de france up the tourmalet, with the infamous "look". This tour de france and this moment in particular to pin point it was the moment i fell in love with cycling. the heart and grit both riders showed, and the way they together decimated the rest of the field was incredible.
I remember it so well. Epic stuff, thanks for reminding!
That moment is what got me into cycling too
why no Contador mate? in all your videos you guys stated the fact that hes the one of the legends of the sport. his style, his passion damn thats a bummer list
At 4:20 the monument is in Fusagasugá, Colombia, and is Lucho Herrera ; neither Bahamontes nor Toledo.
Way to go Emma!! Making the list. I miss Emma. Hope she is doing well in her new endeavors.
What is she doing anyway?
Thank you for mentioning Lucho Herrera, and it is well deserved. That stage at Lagos de Covadonga on 1988 is almost mythical in Colombian cycling.
Lucho Herrera a great climber indeed! Colombians are usually exeptional climbers. Cheers!
Contador sholud have been included definitely. Also remember that Pantani owns the kom on the Alpe d'Huez!
I miss Emma 😢. Her videos were always great.
great to see Emma on the list, she was always great to watch as a presenter!!
Alberto Contador ... the best!
Contador and one of my new favs Julien!!
Talking about best climbers. For me nr 1 Marco Pantani and also nr 1 Lucien van Impe. For me it's unforgivable to forget Lucien.
Title says top 6 but in the video says top 7 in the start
The unspoken GOAT Lance Armstrong is the seventh, which is also a sly reference to his 7 vacated wins.
Because they included Emma and she is not one of the best of all time.
Cycle Cleveland he is not the goat ..
@@jsquire5pa your opinion
@@HarveyPekarsGhost not a matter of opinion but objective fact as best as one can understand given the difficulties of comparing different eras etc ... just because everyone is entitled to an opinion does not mean all opinions are equally valid ... "your opinion" is a very dumb response. You are probably one of those fanboys who only ever followed the tdf and have little deep understanding of the sport
michael rasmussen, light as a chicken and doped like a rock star!! he always won in the mountains
No way. Rasmussen wasn't that talented. Very ordinary without dope.
All of the guys on the where Also doped, so whats your point....? Today in these little to No dope tour de France times, it's so boring to watch.
@@puzzlespillet I don't care. Rasmussen wasn't that talented. Ask anyone who rode against him in MTB. Then re watch his embarrassing capitulation in the 2005 TdF time trial. Obviously he didn't want a repeat so he went all out doping in 2007 and git rightly pulled out of the race by his own team for being ridiculous. Doping isn't what makes professional racing good to watch.
@@jasonstevenson110 but everybody Who won anything backthen went nuts with doping, why is that different for Michael? I remember that tt 😂 but the year he was kicked out of the tour, nobody was near him. And they where doped to.
@@puzzlespillet Agree, they quickly forget about their own countrymen. Everyone here shouts Contador, but their short-term memory forgets that he was deprived of his Tour De France victories when he drove for Astana. Who exactly took over Rasmussen's yellow jersey? Alberto Contador. Yup.
Lucien Van Impe - 5 polka dot jerseys (tied with Bahamontes), 8 TdF stage wins, competed in 15 TdF and finished them all, on TdF podium 5 times, 9 TdF finishes in the top 6; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 6th, never failed or refused a drug test, (unlike a guy who topped the list and eventually died of an overdose).
The salt in this comment section. ROFL.
Somewhere in Colorado Lance Armstrong has smoke pouring out of his ears -- or maybe the smoke is bursting from his lungs, it is Colorado after all.
Hey, maybe supplied by Floyd's. That'd be truly hilarious.
And now it is Pogacar. Basically breaking every climbing record on every climb he rides on, winning two KOM jerseys and two GC jerseys, while being long before his prime.
I am a little doubtful of him, but he is the greatest climber ever in the making.
Roglic gives him some hard time when the climbs are longer so wouldnt agree completely there.
Pogacar is not the best climber in the world. He is the best all rounder in the world, but Jonas Vingegaard is a much better climber but nowhere near as good a rider overall
Pogacar is just as much a classics and one day specialist as a GT rider. Jonas Vingegaard is pure GT and right now the absolute best
I thought Tom Last was considered one of the greater climbers of his generation? with his incredible ability to suffer surely he has to be in this list.
those videos of "the brick" suffering climbing are legendary
Fausto Coppi? Gino Bartali? Vincenzo Nibali? Felice Gimondi?
Great to see Emma on the list :)
Pantani is my all time Favourite Climber 😅 Like Froomie . However I would have Contador in the Mix as well. Alberto was my 2nd all time Favourite Climber.
Froome 32d .
The Aussie TdeF winner Cadel could climb but unfortunately was a real grinder & as an Australian l really ❤ the way Ritchie Porte Climbed . Nice presentation 👏 👌
Jose Manuel Fuente? A pure climber can’t be far from this list. You can view his talent in the legendary documentary “stars and watercarriers”
Pedro Delgado deserves some recognition- a pure climber...
We all know who is missing.
Lance
Who??
Dan Lloyd
Erased
Bartali?
I would replace Froome with Contador purely on climbing ability.
Ant Cycli doped though
@@finnmurden490 obviously no bar to being on this list.
@@finnmurden490 What you mean he had pita grams of clembutorol in his body that wasnt even enough to enhance performance. As well as being found on a rest day at the end of the second week of the 2010 tour kinda shows he didnt intend to injest clembutorol.
You total mugs. That statue of bahamontes is the statue of luis herrera in colombia...
guys... the statue you re showing at 4:19 belongs to Lucho Herrera, it´s in its home town Fusagasuga, Colombia.
Antoine Misas omg you’re right gcn are hopeless
Marco Pantani. The best of all times. No shadow of doubt
The greatest cheater...
All riders cheat in that time
Pantani il piu'grande scalatore della storia riconosciuto da tutti
Why isn't Armstrong in that list ?
If it is due to doping scandals, then Pantani shouldn't have been there and if it is because he is not a pure climber, then Froome shouldn't have been there.
Exactly
Hot take: Pantani was damaged by living in the period of time where everybody was drugged up.
If you look at all the people who were winning Grand Tours in the 90s you have Indurain, Ullrich, Riis, Berzin, Rominger, Zülle, Tonkov: big guys, time trial beasts, competitive on the mountains only thanks to a blood that carried way more oxygen than the norm.
Pantani is the only proper climber who was able to beat those guys in that period of time: of course he used to dope but everybody was doing it and probably gaining more advantages than him. If he was born ten years later he would've won more GTs than he actually did, and he would probably be alive right now.
An italian journalist once said "All clean, Pantani wins. All doped, Pantani wins the same"
everybody is doped, doesn't that level up the field?
with Marco they were extremely brutal here in Italy, a mixture of politics, media pressure, trials, exclusions from tours, with the mafia involvement up to his death if you ask me.
Nobody would have survived that 😢.
Fausto Coppi! He was mentioned a few times even on this video. Due to WW2 5 years of races in his prime were taken away.
Emma!!!! Miss her!
Well, if you have Ocãna, then Merckx belongs on this List!
And where is Van Impe, he literally danced up the climbs!
So does Hinault and LeMond but Impe is the best climber I’ve seen. If he came of his seat on a climb the rest of the riders could kiss his rear wheel good bye.
I’m rather shocked Impe didn’t make this list. He’s on most folks top 10 climber list.
Emma Pooley has also won the duathlon world champs four times on a super hilly course in Switzerland. She's unstoppable...literally - never beaten at this event
Hah i bet Emma absolutely loves you for this one, Dan! Seriously though, definitely miss her presence on the channel.
Pantani, Gaul, Van Impe, Virenque, Eddy M, Contador plus Coppi/Andy Schleck.
For people that are saying that Pantani was never found guilty of doping while Lance was .... LOL ? I mean Pantani died cause of cocaine... i mean what else do u need to know about him. Dude was doping like crazy. And there were a lot of times his blood had high levels of haematocrit lol . He was even DQ for that once or how many times .... just cmon now. EVERYONE WAS DOPING BACK IN THE DAYS... maybe not the guys that were just bringing water to Lance but the Top30 guys and sprinters/time trialists/classic specialists.... they were full of it.
The pic in which you showed Bahamontes monument is wrong (4:22), that is Lucho Herrera monument in Fusagasuga, Herrera's hometown.
By the way, I completely agree with your list!
WHERE IS ALBERTO CONTADOR ?!?
He’s in his garage fixing his broken gearing battery assist???
He's not.
The dude was a user of grand scales.
0.9 the most Underrated cyclist ever.
A true force of Nature,the Great Portuguese Joaquim Agostinho who started his professional career at 25 years old without any knowledge abaut professional cycling.
But like the Force of Nature that man was,soon he became very well knowed and feared in the Peloton for his sheer explosive power , specialy on the most hard Mountains.
Did won several stages on the Tour,Giro and Vuelta. 3 times on the podium of the Tour de France.
Had a very sad and premature death because one dog and the lack of helmet.
The potential of this man was never completely explored,because he wasn't a team racer,but one man show.
Great picture.0.9.
Nice you consider Lucho Herrera!!! 👍💪🏼
If Contador was switched in place of Froome it would be an acceptable list. Lance shouldn't be in the list for the same reason Froome shouldn't they are more all rounders than climbers.
Jimi Presha and both super dopers
@@Dayumhesgood everyone in the list doped, maybe with the exception of Pooley. That doesn't bother me.
froome.... really? top 6? dear me...
everyone in the comments mentioning Contador is right to do so (amongst others). If you're talking about riders from the same time period and you leave out the guy who stormed up the Mortirolo a few years back absolutely crushing people along the way, i can't even take this list remotely seriously. i can't even name a single climb anywhere near that level from froome honestly and i'd dare anyone to do to. Contador has a bunch of these....you don't have to add contador at all, but if you add froome instead, you've gone off the rails.
Where is 6x KOM jersey winner (and TdF winner) Lucien van Impe??
How can we take this video serious if they don't mention Van Impe? Ridiculous. And if you mention Froome, where is Eddy merckx? Not a typical climber but almost unbeatable in the mountains for a few years. And Fausto Coppi? Yes, I'm Belgian but hey, not mentioning those three riders when it's about climbing is incredible. At least we know the cycling history unlike the guy in the video.
Heres the correct list,
1 Charly Gaul
2 Fausto Coppi
3Jose Manuel Fuente
4Federico Bahamontes
5 Marco Pantani
6 Eddy Merckx
You forgot Lucien van Impe...
There are only three greatest: Bahamontes, Gaul and Van Impe. Period.
My personal all time chart Coppi/ bartali/froome/contador/nibali/quintana..... Pantani is hors categorie
Great selection
Van Impe, Merckx, Bartali, Coppi, Binda, Gaul.....
P.I.R.A.T.A, more would like downhill, but Alpes hues Pantani😲!!!!Amazing!!!
Contador is one on my list. Not only was he a great climber but I love his attacking style. Attacking performances in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro come to mind.
That Face Dan makes at the end tho.....Priceless LOL!!!
Just lmao at leaving Lance out and you start with Pantani.
Pantani STILL holds more climb records than anyone. Lance has always insisted Pantani at his peak was a far better climber.
@@justinkimber9456 agreed, but no one will touch Lance with a 10 foot pole. Why can Pantani be celebrated but not Lance? Pantani wasn't anything close to clean either. No way Pantani did Alpe D'huez in 37'35" on a 8+ Kg bike clean. Why can everyone fondly remember him while Lance is forever "he who must not be named?"
@@thephotoyak because Pantani didn't engage in the same activity off the bike. Lance's shady behaviour went far, far beyond doping.
@@justinkimber9456 fair enough, I don't think we can excuse Lance, but I just figure trying to erase him from history isn't really fair either.
What the fuck is that mean???
Pantani has the fastest 3 times on AdH and the fastest time on Ventoux. At his peak he is the best climber ever. Yes, enhanced but is gotta appreciate the performance.
Andy Schleck has surely got to be on the list???
A top 6 best climbers of all time without Alberto Contador 🤔
Yeah this channel is full of crap. Greatest climber of the last 15 years and we don't put him on the list because we've got our heads up our asses and have to put a fellow Britsh chap in there.
In the future where will Egan Bernal land on this list...?
Where is Alberto Contador??
Emma needs to make a guest appearance for old time sake.
Just 2 words : MARCO PANTANI
Comparing Emma to Marco Pantani is absurd
Alberto Contador, the absolute best climber and no one, no one, rides like him, that elegance, that style, that light feather (and don't get me started on doping, THEY ALL DID, and Froome is the number one on the list, just never got caught..every single one of them did and they had to...)
Alberto Contador to climbing is what Andres iniesta is to football!artistry in motion!
Always a tough call. Great to see Emma on the list. Miss her contributions to GCN. Maybe next time include more woman. Half and half perhaps.
It's difficult to dissect into special cathegories like that. You can rank the greatest Grand Tour Classification Riders by using their wins and podiums in the GTs, but to choose the greatest climbers is different. People like Armstrong, Froome, Ullrich, Indurain, Lemond, Anquetil, Hinault etc. were bigger riders with great climbing skills, but they were complete GC guys because they also were good at time trials. When we are talking pure climbers, Im thinking of small climbers with mediocre or bad time trialing skills like Heras, Simoni, The Schleck Brothers, Pantani, Rasmussen, Quintana, Virenque etc. were pure climbers. The same for riders like Bahamontes, Van Impe, Ocana, Herrera etc. before them.
No Contador in the list!! Not sure why the team missed him in the list..
they already have one Spaniard?
For me it was Luis "Lucho" Herrera !
Lucho Herrera the best Colombian and Latin American climber of all time and the father of the famous "escarabajos (climbing beetles)" which is how Colombian pure climbers are called. My list is: Lucien Van Impe
Alberto Contador
Gino Bartali
Luis Herrera
Federico Bahamontes
Charly Gaul
* Pantani
Great list. You could also include Coppi, Ocana, Armstrong and Bottecchia. Maybe Pottier and Binda just to have one of the very early heroes :)
Surprised Contador not on list, no one dances on the pedals for such a long time.
Honourable mentions to Robert Millar, Eddy Merckx and Richard Virenque.
Andy Schleck. Alberto Contador,
O my goodness it so sad It is forgetting
Rishard Viranque. he was winning a five times in King of mountain classification.
Any way you are doing well
and you are educative.
Thank you very much
I liked this video, would be good to see more specific videos about the legends.
No lance Armstrong? Guy may have doped but so did all his competitors
Where is Alberto Contador - he is the best!
Hahahaha love your disclaimer...🤣🤣
I am Kenyan and I believe the terrain he used for training is in a place called Iten.
Emma Rules 😊 miss her on the show. Is it possible to have her as a guest every once in awhile 😊
Hugh Snyder did she leave the show?
Martin Flores Yes , I think she’s doing some kind of engineering career .
I agree that Alberto Contador is the most Elegant. Dancing on the Pedals at No 2. And yes No 1 Marco Pantani . Pantani on the Drops was sensational.
Set the cat amongst the pigeons, being a yank I can't say I've heard that before,,,I like it !!
Van impe and I remember watching Beat Breu in the Tour phenomenal climber.
Speaking of Emma...
Why is she no longer a presenter on GCN? If it was announced in a show I must have missed that episode. She was a great presenter on GCN and I thought the workout videos she made were some of the best for the content and explanations she provided.
She is a studied engineer and went on to work as such