[Closed] Who's your cycling hero? And why?

[url= http://www.jensvoigtfacts.com/ ]Because of the awesome[/url]

Dunno if I'd say hero but..

Greg Lemond. No really reason other than watching him race.

Sheldon Brown, a lifetime devoted to cycling of one form or another, and even towards the end of his life when illness threatened his raison d'etre he still maintained a positive outlook.

I doubt I'll ever amass half as much knolwedge as he did and I certainly won't be helping half as many amateur cyclists/cycle mechanics even so he's been my inspiration since I returned to the cycling fold 10+ years ago.

Good call on Mikey Aitken there Tom.
I'll add Marco Simoncelli for 'motor'cycling aswell.

all of you guys on STW.. 😳

Marco pantani, who else could pull off that head gear.

Jan Ullrich - flawed obviously, but on his day......

Most of team gb and messrs obree and armstrong.

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OLD-SCHOOL BADNESS.
TOMMY GODWIN: BEAT THE ‘YEAR’S MILEAGE’ RECORD BY OCTOBER 1939. AND RODE ON TO 75,065 MILES FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR.
KEPT ON RIDING TO TAKE THE 100,000 MILE RECORD IN MAY 1940. SPENT A FEW WEEKS LEARNING HOW TO WALK AGAIN, THEN WENT OFF TO FIGHT THE WAR.
BEAT THAT, PUSSIES.

I'd have to say Beryl Burton. What she achieved was amazing. I'm also pretty impressed by Mike Hall, more recently.

Peyote - Member

Sheldon Brown, a lifetime devoted to cycling of one form or another, and even towards the end of his life when illness threatened his raison d'etre he still maintained a positive outlook.

In a cycle sport hero way it would have to be a 3 way split between Bernard Hinault, Sean Kelly & Sean Yates. All who I have met during their "hero years" and were like supermen!

Laurent Fignon, such passion and élan.

Lance Armstrong. Inspired me back on to the bike and generally turn my life around.

Mark Cavendish. Again the passion.

Dave Buchanan.

Strength demonstrated through humility, determination and friendship; and an amazing cyclist to boot. Very few people around demonstrate those kinds of qualities.

And Palmer. Because he's a nutjob.

Lance Armstrong

Mcmullen and Weir for the love of riding bikes.

Joanna Rowsell; wig-wearing-wonderwoman.

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Graeme Obree; marmalade-munching-madman.

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Reg Harris - read his biography when I was 15 back in 1980.
Robert Miller
Lance Armstrong
Gordon Singleton

Good call on Sheldon Brown

Drwato

Jedi...got me airbourne 😀

There was a guy telling a story on here a few weeks ago about some chap back in the day who turned up for a road race in France straight from the trenches, borrowed a bike off a local, dropped the home favourite in front of his own house and then finished so far ahead of the peloton he stopped in a pub for some pints before crossing the line and being carried around the velodrome by fans for a victory lap because he was too drunk to walk...that guy is my hero.

I'll see if I can find the story..

Edit: full story below as quoted by Atlaz in this thread:

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/i-predict-the-rebirth-of-a-retro-niche

HENRI VAN LERBERGHE, THE ‘DEATHRIDER OF LICHTERVELDE’, RIGHT NOW.
HE TURNED UP ON THE START LINE OF THE 1919 TOUR OF FLANDERS STRAIGHT FROM THE TRENCHES WITHOUT A BIKE. HE BORROWED ONE, ATTACKED THE FAVOURITE JULES VANHEVEL IN FRONT OF HIS OWN HOUSE, AND STOPPED IN SIGHT OF THE VELODROME FOR A COUPLE OF BEERS BEFORE THE FINISH.
HE STILL FINISHED 14 MINUTES UP ON THE FIELD, DESPITE BEING SO WASTED HE HAD TO COMPLETE HIS LAP OF HONOUR ON FOOT.

Bit of a cliche but Lance Armstrong. He's quite an inspiration especially during tough times.

Reading Mark Cavendish's and Rob Lee's books at the moment, could be future potentials.

My riding buddies - they are all frikken awesome and inspire me as well as worry me (in equal measures).

Merckx, work ethic, grace in defeat, rode everything, attacked rather than followed

Merckx. As a rider there is no comparison.

rOcKeTdOg, the king of the NW Alps

Lemond, Fignon, Tomac, Palmer.

Jason McCroy, John Tomac, Brian Lopes, Peaty

[url=

Ride free

i'm no hero splashdown 🙂

my 1st childhood hero was cav strutt, uks first bmx freestyle pro. i now ride with him on mtb!

Close call between Obree and Sheldon for me.

Maybe because they're both as mad as a bottle of chips, but in a good way.

Steve Peat for being around that long and finally doing it in Canberra

Lance Armstrong for coming back and his charity work

Mark Cavandish for telling it like it is

and
Tracey Mosley for winning everything then finding new events to enter!

Mcmullen and [b]Weir[/b] for the love of riding bikes

Good call. Weir is an amazing rider with balls of steel.

Not really someone who has heroes but big fan of Jens Voigt. Really nice guy in person, funny and as hard as nails.

Tomac for doing so well in both DH and XC and inspiring me when I first got into mountain biking.
Armstrong for his pure determination to fight cancer and then go on to his TDF victories.

... To be honest as others have said there's quite a lot of people that have done amazing rides and inspiring stuff but at the end of the day the greatest local inspiration was an old fella who I used to see on my commute to my last job, must have been in his 70/80's, wearing great trad wool gear, going slow on an old race bike but still going. I hope I am still doing the same at his age.

obree and sheldon brown for me.
for the reasons given above by coolhandluke.

Peaty is a most excellent role model, I think.

I have a bit of an obsession with Cav at the moment but I'm not sure he's achieved hero status yet. I'd like to see if he could achieve anything on the bike beyond track/ sprinting.

another one here for jedi. i dont follow famous cyclists, DH, XC or anything like that, i follow my friends into the woods.... jedi has probably spread more smiles across faces teaching people how to have more fun riding that anyone i can think of. for me that's what its all about, having fun

On a personal level - my brother. He has severe mental and physical disabilities, and has spent his life often in pain, but several years ago he learnt how to cycle on a specially adapted bike. He went on to compete in the Special Olympics as a cyclist, and won a gold medal in the time trial.

Of the more 'famous' cyclists - Beryl Burton: outstanding athlete, won numerous championships and held several world records.

Taff - Member

Bit of a cliche but Lance Armstrong. He's quite an inspiration especially during tough times.

Reading Mark Cavendish's and Rob Lee's books at the moment, could be future potentials.

Who the fuuck is 'Rob Lee'?

Who the fuuck is 'Rob Lee'?

I'm gonna go with Shaun Palmer. Pure attitude.

Road : Mark Cavendish
Mtb : Danny MegaSkillz

wrecker - Member

Who the fuuck is 'Rob Lee'?

Some bloke who used to work in cyclesurgery in bristol.

Ha Ha, sounds like a real inspiration! I wonder if that balding fat guy from 'bike' near the triangle will be penning his memoirs any time soon?

I know I may get slated for this given his past but I really admire David Millar. He is open about his past but is an intelligent guy and still a great rider.

My other heroes are the likes of Jo Burt, Justin Loretz, Rob Warner and Jason McRoy who opened up this sport to me in the mid 90s and made me realise that it was as much more than just riding a bike.

Also the old man who I helped on the A38 once who had a mild bonk on the return leg of a Bristol to Gloucester ride. "At 72 " He said "I should probably give this up...." To him and all the other old guys still riding.

Matt Hoffman........just awesome!

Good thread. My first thought was Lemons as I read the samual abt book when I was younger. However, thinking about it now, I'm more tempted to think It's the likes of Sheldon and Jedi. The big difference really is that what they do benefits others.

Palmer, Tomac, Peaty, Myles Rockwell, Dave Cullinan and Missy Giove in my youth

And more recently...
Mark Weir - he's the rider I wish I was, fit as butchers dog and tons of skill/balls.
Wade Simmons, Andrew Shandro and Matt Hunter as they all appear to have a huge passion for mountain biking be it Trail riding or freeriding.

ACtually that's a good point. My cousin's other grandfather was an inspiration. A member of Boston Wheelers for most of his adult life and was still riding until not that long before his death. Wasn't quick any more but loved riding his bike.

Obree - for his ability to challenge conventional thinking and then deliver the goods
MegaSkills - for changing my view of what is possible on a bike
Cav - for being able to match his talk off the bike with the performances on it
Sue W's brother - just wow!

Interesting, Im attracted to those who've shown ability in more than one cycling discipline.

So for me its Merxc, Armstrong, Mosely followed by Peaty, Hart & Cav.

Wiggo will get the nod for me IF he has a good tour.

I know that being French is controlversial

but Chausson and Vouilloz

I've only ever seen one world class downhill, Vale 1994. They were both Juniors but were fast. Both had amazing careers as sesniors

Sue W's brother now.

Other people I admire are Peaty, Wade Simmons, Shandro etc.

Indurain, Tomac, Valverde (what??), Sastre, Garzelli, Sola, Moncutie'.

I grew up watching the TdF in the 80's and continued to this day, though the Giro is my fave, then the Vuelta then the hard one day races in the Italian hills and French ones in Brittany..

Though who I actually ride like is anyones guess..

Surely it has to be Smurfhat in all his awesomeness who used to be on here?!

Seriously, Jedi gets my vote - if he's made as much difference to others' riding as he has to Mrs O's and mine, he is a hero.

At the moment, Mike Hall 🙂

Just rode around the world in 91 days. Averaging 200 miles a day.

+1 for Jens Voigt, an animal on a bike,,,,,,

As for who the F is Rob Lee, for the record he is someone who did a few long distance things to an ok level a few years back when the standards/expectations were low. (eg west highland way at running speed on a bike.)Then wrote a book on it. He's not shown his face in recent years probably due to the standard improving at solo 24hr and endurance events/challenges, and if he did he would get his ticket in a massive way these days........

chris akrigg .hes a true inspiration to me .top bloke too

Beryl Burton (*who I didn't know about till her name was posted on here, a small post with slightly weird answers that made me look her up)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/05/15/people_beryl_burton_feature.shtml

the bit about where she passed the bloke (who was currently setting the mans world record for 12 hours), offered hime a liquorice allsort and then went on to set the actual world record appears to be true

"At the end of the 12 hour race Mike Mcnamara had beaten the 9 year old 12 hour record, finishing with 276.52 miles. However, his record beating ride, was completely overshadowed by Beryl’s ride which left her with a total of 277.52 miles, the first time any male road cycling record had been held by a women."

mangoridebike & Coyote - thanks 🙂

Not a hero but I really liked Merckx's style.
Obree as well, there's thinking differently despite having some serious crippingly difficult mental issues to deal with.

Stephen Roche.

And Tommy Goodwin.

And John Stamsted.

On a less endurance more skills theme then Mark Weir and Nico

No one.

Got really into road racing watching the TdF in the early 90s.

Then a couple of years down the line discovered that all my "heroes" were in fact total drug hoovers.

Put me off, massively.

Obree for me.

paul fournel. maybe not a hero as susch but much of what he writes about cycling strikes a chord.

Chris Akrigg here too... unstoppable man of Yorkshire grit...

Reg Harris, when a I was a young man at the peak of my fitness, riding up holmes moss, an old codger rode past me like I was standing still, my riding buddy informed me it was Reg Harris, so even though he is an insparation to keep riding till I die, I also hate him for beating me up holmes moss.

Big Mig, he was the champion when I first started watching the tours, and he did it seemingly with a complete lack of arrogance, selfishness or the vindictiveness that so may sports men seem to believe is an essential part of the "winning" character.

Wiggo seems to be cut from the same cloth as Big Mig, and he seems a bit smarter than your average cyclist (or any other sports participants), he needs a tour victory to become a real hero, but he is an inspiration that you can still win the right way.

Just interested as I read an article in this months cycling magazine about some young cyclist who had a passion for cycling, to the point he was prepared to take risks! This young man had incredible confidence to the point that it really inspired me, made me think I even wanted to be this individual! Don't know who he is but I'm so glad I saw it.

I think you have the wrong magazine Rupert!

its this months MBR with the young gentleman that has inspired you with his Death riding etiquette racing and beating the holiday makers.

Lone voice in the wilderness here for Tom Simpson

Steve peat for me.

Graeme Obree. Read his book when I was just getting into cycling. I'd just been diagnosed with depression. He was a big inspriation to me. Helped me start the journey out of a very dark place.

Puck the bmx'r from real-world. Armstrongs alterego?

I jest but for some reason in spite of his prowess and achievements something gets in the way where Arm strong is concerned - personality, politics, american legend, Bush, Crow - just me? Discuss..

.-.

Hoy!! hope he does it again in loudon.
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graeme obree

JMC was a real influence to me when I started riding. I guess he opened my eyes to riding other than xc racing.

Jedi and Wa are both inspirations. They love riding and just seem happy to share their passion no matter what, or how, you ride.

Robert Millar and Chris Boardman when I was a kid and my dad would watch races on the tv. Tomac and JMC as a teen. Jill Homer right now.

Sean Kelly for me. He was also my old mans hero when I was a kid. Probably the last man in the peleton to switch from toe clips & straps to clipless. (applies to both of them)
Back in the day racing with Hinault , Lemond etc.
He owned Paris Nice and was always exciting watching him in the one days, especially Paris Roubaix.

It's got to be McNasty (aka George Berwick):
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Now in his 70s, George is still outriding people that are half a century younger.

A former winner of the Mersey 24 hour, George has ridden the event since the 1960s, and has now completed a lifetime total of [b]fifty-one[/b] 24 hour races. George is still the holder of the Scottish 24 hour record (set in 1967) and York-Edinburgh and London-Edinburgh RRA tandem records (set with John Murdoch).

Recently referred to as the "James Bond of Audax", George has ridden multiple Paris-Brest-Paris events (a 1200km Audax) and countless shorter distance events. When his downtube sheared during a 1500km Audax in Germany a couple of years ago, he famously completed the final 500km with this zip-tie bodge:
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(more on the [url= http://westlothianclarion.yuku.com/topic/1183#.T9MI7LDx1cw ]West Lothian Clarion forum[/url]).

George started recording his cycling mileage when he was 18, and hit the [b]half million mile[/b] mark back in 1996. No idea what his current total is.

In case anyone thinks George's palmares are all road based, he has been a member of the Rough Stuff Fellowship since the '60s and is famous for hauling his bike over mountains and bivvying in bothies and caves all over Scotland, decades before the arrival of the mountain bike.

George Berwick - cycling legend and style icon. I don't think he spends a lot of time worrying about whether his anodized top cap matches his handlebar grips...
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