Bernard Hinault
Fausto Coppi
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Dead even across the measured categories. Our all-time ranking places Bernard Hinault at #3 and Fausto Coppi at #4.
The case for Bernard Hinault
The Badger was the last great patron of the peloton, a rider who ruled by force of will as much as by his legs. Hinault won 10 Grand Tours, five Tours de France, three Giri d'Italia and two Vueltas a Espana, along with the 1980 World Championship and five Monuments including Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia. He remains the last Frenchman to win the Tour, in 1985, a drought stretching four decades. A fierce competitor with roughly 216 professional victories, he was equally capable in the mountains, in time trials and in the cobbled Classics, and his combative leadership shaped the tactics of his era. His feud and alliance with teammate Greg LeMond at the 1985 and 1986 Tours produced one of the sport's defining rivalries.
The case for Fausto Coppi
Il Campionissimo, the champion of champions, was cycling's first modern great, a rider whose elegance and scientific approach set him apart in the post-war years. Coppi completed the first Giro-Tour double in 1949 and repeated it in 1952, won five Giri d'Italia and two Tours de France, and took the 1953 World title. His nine Monument victories included three Milan-San Remo, five Il Lombardia and a Paris-Roubaix, many won by riding away alone to finish minutes clear of the field. In 1942 he set the Hour Record at 45.798 kilometres, a mark that stood for 14 years. His rivalry with Gino Bartali divided a recovering Italy, and the image of the two sharing a bottle on a climb became an enduring symbol of the sport's romance.