Why they rank here
El Pistolero was the most explosive Grand Tour climber of his generation, a rider who attacked where others calculated. Contador won all three Grand Tours, a feat achieved by only a handful of riders, and his official palmares lists seven Grand Tour titles, two Tours de France, two Giri d'Italia and three Vueltas a Espana, after two further wins were annulled following a contested clenbuterol case. His signature was the sudden, dancing acceleration on a steep gradient, and his rivalries with Andy Schleck and later Chris Froome produced some of the most dramatic mountain racing of the 2000s and 2010s. Aggressive to the end, he attacked from distance even in his final Vuelta in 2017, winning atop the Angliru on the day he retired, ensuring he left the sport exactly as he had raced it.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.