Fausto Coppi
Miguel Indurain
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Miguel Indurain leads 1 of 2 categories. Our all-time ranking places Fausto Coppi at #4 and Miguel Indurain at #6.
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.
The case for Miguel Indurain
Big Mig was the first rider to win five consecutive Tours de France, from 1991 to 1995, an unprecedented run built on time-trial power that few could comprehend. A tall, powerful rider with a famously low resting heart rate, Indurain would demolish his rivals against the clock, then mark them in the mountains without ever needing to attack. He won seven Grand Tours in all, adding the Giro d'Italia in 1992 and 1993 to complete Giro-Tour doubles in both years. In 1994 he set the Hour Record at 53.040 kilometres, and in 1995 he took the World time-trial title before winning Olympic time-trial gold on home-continent roads at Atlanta in 1996. His calm, understated dominance made him a national hero in Spain and ushered in a new era of specialised Grand Tour riding.