Jacques Anquetil
Miguel Indurain
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Jacques Anquetil leads 2 of 3 categories. Our all-time ranking places Jacques Anquetil at #5 and Miguel Indurain at #6.
The case for Jacques Anquetil
Maitre Jacques was the first rider to win five Tours de France, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964, and he did it by mastering the discipline others feared: the time trial. His position on the bike was so refined that he could gain minutes against the clock and then defend a lead in the mountains with cold calculation. Anquetil took eight Grand Tours in total, adding two Giri d'Italia and the 1963 Vuelta a Espana, and in 1964 became the first man to win the Giro and Tour in the same season since Coppi. He also dominated the Grand Prix des Nations time trial, winning it nine times. His rivalry with the popular Raymond Poulidor, the eternal runner-up, transfixed France even as Anquetil coolly beat him time and again.
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.