I don't think you can prove who was the best, except maybe in extraordinary cases like Merckx and Beryl Burton. But comparing athletes from different eras is one of the most basic attractions of being a fan of any sport. Why do baseball fans all know the lifetime batting average of the long-dead Ty Cobb? Or how many home runs Babe Rith hit? It is exactly the difficulty of comparison that makes the comparisons compelling. How many Grand Slams would Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzales and even Rod Laver have won if pros had then be allowed to play the Grand Slams? How many TdF would Coppi and Bartali have won had their careers not be interrupted by the war? (Or had Bartali not had to withdraw when winning a TdF just before the war because of French fans attaching the Italian riders?)
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
greenjersey@ntlworld.com wrote: Ray green wrote: Incidentally in Daniel Marszalek's "THE Best Road Riders IN History" Moser comes fifth and first Italian. Before you ask Coppi is ninth. This excellent list does, reasonably, reward a long career and Coppi didn't earn any points while a POW. Chuck Schmidt wrote: Perfect example of why these lists are always flawed. You just can't compare riders of different eras in my opinion. To me it is enough to show the dominate rider of the different eras, but to try to pick one rider as the best rider in history? Compare the top rider from one era to the top rider from another? Silly... Ray Green replies: I think that the only thing wrong with Daniel Marszalek's list is the title. If it was called "The Winningest Road Rider in History" any objections would be removed. Like most lists it gives points for wins. Daniel has a really comprehensive and sensible scheme. It awards points that relate to the value of the race at the time. So Paris-Brussels for instance earns big points for the period when it was a Classic but less now that it is a fish and chipper. Conversely the San Sebastian Classic gets less points during the period when it was a Basque domestic race and more when it was a World Cup race. For me it is an objective assessment of the worth of riders' palmares. Finally I cannot agree that it is impossible to say who is the best. Whoever your favourite is, from whatever era, there are other possibilities as the best. If you choose Coppi an arguement can be made for Bartali. If you choose Hinault you must consider Kelly and Lemond but if you choose Eddy Merckx there is no nobody as a possible contender. The Special One is unique, he is simply the Best Cyclist Ever. Ray Green, Brighton, England
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