- Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong Facing testicular cancer and not yet knowing his own fate, in 1997 champion cyclist Lance Armstrong established the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization that inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. This marked the beginning of Lance's role as an advocate for cancer survivors and a world representative for the cancer community.
- Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis (born October 14 1975) is an American cyclist. He is a time-trial specialist as well as a strong climber. Landis turned professional in 1999 with the Mercury Cycling Team. He joined the US Postal Service team in 2002, and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005. Landis was fired from the Phonak team on August 5, 2006, after testing revealed an abnormally high testosterone/epitestosterone ratio.
- Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (born December 2, 1973 in Rostock, Germany) is a German professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to achieve five second place finishes, along with a fourth place (2004) and a third place finish (2005). In 2006, Ullrich was barred from competing in the Tour de France amid speculation of having doped. In late February, 2007, he announced his retirement at a press conference.
- Greg Lemond
Gregory James "Greg" LeMond (born June 26, 1961 in Lakewood, California) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three time winner of the Tour de France. In 1986, LeMond became the first American cyclist to win the race. In 1987, he was shot and seriously injured in a hunting accident, taking two years to recover before returning to win the Tour again in 1989 and 1990, …
- Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Lykkegård Riis, nicknamed "the Eagle from Herning", is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team CSC. Other career highlights include winning the Amstel Gold Race in 1997, multiple Danish National Championships, and stage wins in the Giro d'Italia. On May 25 2007 he admitted that he won the Tour de France using banned substances, …
- Miguel Indurain
Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He is best known for having won the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995, becoming one of the five persons to win the event five times, and the first to win five in a row. Indurain's ability and physical size-1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) and 80 kg (176 lbs)-earned him the nickname "Miguelón".
- Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani (January 13, 1970 - February 14, 2004) was an Italian cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all times in professional road bicycle racing. The high point of his career was to win the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 1998. The bandana he often wore and his attacking style of riding led to him being dubbed 'Il Pirata' (the pirate) by the adoring Italian "tifosi" - his fans. However, his career was dogged by drug allegations, …
- Eddy Merckx
Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx (born June 17 1945, Meensel-Kiezegem, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium) is a former Belgian professional cyclist. Merckx, regarded as the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time, established several world cycling records, some of which remain unbroken to this day.
- Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (born 14 November, 1954 in Yffiniac, Bretagne) is a French cyclist best known for his five victories in the Tour de France. He is also one of only four cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each Grand Tour more than once. His first place Tour de France achievements were in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985. In addition, he placed second in 1984 and 1986 and won 28 stages, of which 13 were individual time trials.
- Jacques Anquetil
Jacques Anquetil (January 8, 1934 - November 18, 1987), was a French cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour de France that he would gain the yellow jersey on day one and wear it all through the tour, a tall order with 2 previous winners in the field - Gaul and Bahamontes - but he did just that.
- Charly Gaul
Charly Gaul was a road professional cyclist from Luxembourg. He was an accomplished time trialist, however, he was renowned as a climbing specialist. His climbing ability earned him the nickname of "The Angel of the Mountains" in the 1958 Tour de France which he won overall and took four stage victories. He was also successful in the Giro d'Italia, winning in 1956 and 1959, and claiming several further high places.
- Stephen Roche
Stephen Roche was born November 28 1959 in Dundrum near Dublin, Ireland and is a retired professional cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming only the second cyclist in history to win the Triple Crown of overall victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus victory in the World Cycling Championship.
- Laurent Fignon
Laurent Fignon (born August 12, 1960 in Paris, France) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, and missed winning it a third time, in 1989, by the closest margin ever to decide the tour, 8 seconds. He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1989, having been runner-up in 1984, and the Milan-Sanremo Classic two times.
- Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi was an Italian racing cyclist. Nicknamed "Il Campionissimo" ("the greatest champion") or "The Champion of the Champions", he was one of the most successful and most popular cyclists of all time. He twice won the Tour de France (1949 and 1952), and five times the Giro d'Italia (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953).
- Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo, also known as Perico, is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He was the winner of the 1988 Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. He became an impetus for change in cycling's doping regulations after testing positive for probenecid, a masking agent, during the 1988 Tour de France. Though other sports governing bodies, such as the IOC, recognized probenecid as a doping agent, the UCI, …
- Felice Gimondi
Felice Gimondi is an Italian former professional cyclist. With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist (after Jacques Anquetil) to win all three "Grand Tours" of road cycling: Tour de France (1965, his first year as a pro), Giro d'Italia (1967, 1969 and 1976), and Vuelta a España (1968). He remains one of only four cyclists to have done so.
- Joop Zoetemelk
Gerardus Joseph ("Joop") Zoetemelk is a retired cyclist from The Netherlands. He is listed as the 8th greatest road cyclist of all time in Daniel Marszalek's internationally acknowledged weighted ranking, edging out luminaries like Fausto Coppi and Roger De Vlaeminck. After winning a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City in the Team 100k Time Trial (along with Fedor den Hertog, Jan Krekels and René Pijnen) Zoetemelk turned professional.
- Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali (July 18, 1914 - May 5, 2000) was an Italian professional racing cyclist. He was the most famous Italian cyclist prior to the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice (in 1936 and 1937) and the Tour de France in 1938. His second and last win in 1948 placed him in the record books for having the largest gap between victories in the French race.
- Federico Bahamontes
Federico Martín Bahamontes is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist.
- Louison Bobet
Louis ("Louison") Bobet was a French professional road cyclist. He was one of just eight riders to win the Tour de France at least three times, and also the first ever to win the race three times in succession, a feat he accomplished from 1953 to 1955. He also won the Tour's King of the Mountains competition in 1950. Bobet's exceptional career included victories in the French Road Race Championship (1950 & 51), Milan-Sanremo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), …
- Lucien van Impe
Lucien Van Impe (born 20 October 1946 in Mere, Belgium) was a Flemish cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France: he started 15 times and reached the finish in Paris every time (second in the record books for total Tour finishes, after Joop Zoetemelk, and tied with Viatcheslav Ekimov who did the same in 2006). He won the Tour once, in 1976.
- Maurice Garin
Maurice Garin (March 3, 1871 - February 19, 1957) was a road bicycle racer. He is best known for winning the 1903 Tour de France - the very first running of the prestigious event. Garin was born in Arvier in the Aosta Valley in north-west Italy. He became a naturalized French citizen only in December 1901, when he was a celebrated champion, winner of the second Paris-Roubaix. Although initially declared the winner of the 1904 Tour de France, …
- Antonin Magne
Antonin Magne (15 February 1904 in Ytrac - 8 September 1983 in Arcachon) was a French cyclist who won the Tour de France twice, in 1931 and 1934. He won a total of 9 stages at the Tour de France (where he was second in the general classment of 1936 and third in 1930), and was also World Champion in 1936. He won the Grand Prix des Nations, the unofficial world championship of the individual time trial, three consecutive years (1934, 1935, 1936).
- Jan Janssen
Johannes Adrianus Janssen, popularly known as Jan Janssen (born May 19 1940) is a Dutch former professional cyclist (1962 - 1973). He was world champion and winner of the Tour de France.
- Roger Walkowiak
Roger Walkowiak was a French road bicycle racer who unexpectedly won the 1956 Tour de France. He was a professional rider from 1950 until 1960.
- François Faber
François Faber was a Luxembourgian cyclist. He was born in France, but because his father was a Luxembourger, he was able to receive Luxembourgian nationality. In 1906 he participated in the Tour de France for the first time. He didn't finish. The next year, he was 7th and in 1908 he took second place and won two stages. In 1909 he dominated the Tour. He won five consecutive stages, a record that went unbroken for almost a century.
- Luis Ocaña
Luis Ocaña was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the "Tour de France" in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970. Ocaña was born in Priego, Cuenca, Spain but his family eventually moved to Mont-de-Marsan (Landes, France) in 1957. In 1970 he finished 31st in the Tour. The following year, Ocaña rode himself in to history books with a daring and strong challenge to the dominance of Eddy Merckx. On the uphill finish of Stage 8 with 4 kilometres to go, …
- Lucien Aimar
Lucien Aimar (born April 28, 1941 at Hyeres, France) was a notable road racing cyclist of the 1960s and 1970s, and winner of the Tour de France in 1966.
- Ottavio Bottecchia
Ottavio Bottecchia (1 August 1894 - 14 June 1927) was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian champion of the Tour de France.
- Hugo Koblet
Hugo Koblet was a Swiss champion cyclist. Born in Zürich, Switzerland, his professional cycling career began in 1946. He initially made his name on the track as a pursuiter, winning the Swiss championship every year from 1947 to 1954. In 1947 he finished third in the World Pursuit Championships, and took second place in 1951 and again in 1954.
- Roger Pingeon
Roger Pingeon is a retired professional road bicycle racer from France between 1964 and 1974. Pingeon won the 1967 Tour de France and 1969 Vuelta a España. In 1969, Pingeon again won the Vuelta a España and came in second behind Eddy Merckx in the Tour de France.
- Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys (October 8, 1890 - January 16, 1971) was a Belgian cyclist and a three-time champion of the Tour de France. Born in Brussels, Thys in 1910 won Belgium's first national cyclo-cross championship. He went on to win the Tour de France in 1913 and 1914 and, after World War I, for a third and final time in 1920. Not until 1955 did Louison Bobet equal Thys's record, and not until 1963 did Jacques Anquetil break it with four wins.
- Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier was a French cyclist and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting the miserable conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour. Pélissier was one of four brothers, all of whom became professional cyclists. He began racing professionally in 1911 and amassed important victories before the First World War, …
- Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet, born January 10, 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, France, is a retired bicycle racer. He is a two-time champion of the Tour de France and is perhaps best known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx. He also won the Dauphiné Libéré twice, in 1976 and 1977. Thévenet was born to a farming family in Burgundy and became a French junior cycling champion. He entered the Tour de France for the first time in 1970, …
- Jean Robic
Jean Robic (born June 10 1921 in Vouziers (Champagne-Ardenne) - died October 6 1980) was a French road racing cyclist, who won the 1947 Tour de France. A professional from 1943 to 1961 he died in a car accident near Claye-Souilly.
- Henri Cornet
Henri Cornet (born Henri Jaudry August 4, 1884 - March 18, 1941) was a French cyclist who won the 1904 Tour de France. Born in Desvres, Pas-de-Calais, France, he was only 20 years old when he won the Tour de France. The race was marred by a multitude of problems including irate spectators throwing nails on the road in the final stage that forced Henri Cornet to ride the last 40 kilometers with two flat tires.
- Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot was a Belgian bicycle racer and a two time champion of the Tour de France. Born in the small town of Florennes, Lambot worked as a saddler but began racing professionally in 1908. In that year he won the championships of Flanders and Belgium. He rode the Tour de France from 1911 to 1913 but the First World War eliminated the race for the next five years. When it struggled to its feet again in 1919 the Tour was a miserable affair of war-torn roads, …
- Gastone Nencini
Gastone Nencini (1 March 1930 in Bilancino di Barberino - 1 February 1980 in Florence) was an Italian cyclist who won the 1960 Tour de France and the 1957 Giro d'Italia. Nicknamed "Le Leone de Mugella", "The Lion of Mugella", Nencini was a powerful all-round rider, but particularly strong in the mountains.
- Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz (November 4, 1899 - November 8, 1985), born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his twelve-year career (1923 to 1934). He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for the Alcyon-Dunlap team from 1924 to 1931. Frantz is most famous for having won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928. He won a total of 20 stages of the Tour during the years 1924-1929 and held the yellow jersey for a total of 37 days.
- Octave Lapize
Octave Lapize (October 24, 1887 in Montrouge - July 14, 1917 Toul) was a French professional road racing cyclist who is most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the Men's 100 kilometres. In addition, he is a 3-time winner of the one-day classic, Paris-Roubaix. A fighter pilot in the French army, Octave Lapize died in 1917, when his plane was shot down over Verdun