4 Toughest Cyclists Ever

[@arnaudgagnon1879]

What I admire the most about Bartali's doing during WWII is how humble and discrete he was about it. That quote you gave us had a second part: "You must do good things, not say it"

[@ILikePlayingMelee]

Johnny Hoogerland who was hit by a car, landed fullspeed into barbed wire and finished the stage to win the mountain jersey in TdF!

[@WoRommelististvorne]

Exactly what I thought of when I saw the last sec. In the Video

[@raghnallmacaodh3220]

And after getting stitched back together,,, i think it was 90+ finished the TDF

[@lterra72]

Maarten van Woudenberg I remember watching that live. His leg looked like it was filet with a steak knife! Made the car strike just prior look mild...

[@user-qr8ki8ue4i]

Was wondering if Hooger made this guy's list.

[@augustlandmesser1520]

Wow!

[@uptherockies]

King Kelly, what a legend! My dad gave him one of his first pro bikes

[@swites]

Amazes me just how tough those guys were. Just incredible. Never knew about Bartali putting his life on the line like that to help save others. What a fantastic person

[@patmccarthy8985]

Sean Kelly, start to finish year after year always in contention in the great classics consistent personified, toughest of all

[@fascone]

The King

[@ricksnyder6318]

Fiorenzo Magni In the 1956 Giro d’Italia, stage 12, Fiorenzo Magni famously broke his left clavicle and still managed to finish second overall. At the hospital he refused a plaster cast and refused to abandon the Giro in the year of his announced retirement. Magni continued the race with his shoulder wrapped in an elastic bandage. To compensate for his inability to apply force with his left arm, he raced while holding a piece of rubber inner tube attached to his handlebar between his teeth for extra leverage-Source Wikipedia

[@leofonte]

Magni was the toughest ever IMHO!

[@stuartdryer1352]

Holy cow. Now thst is a hard man.

[@saaretu]

But wait, the story continues: unable to use his left hand, Magni crashed hard again in stage 16, fell on the broken collarbone, broke his arm, passed out in pain, only to wake up later in the ambulance, get back on the bike and ride to finish the stage and all the remaining stages of the race. Tough enough?

[@Bikejon]

You missed off Matt Stephens! Yep, he crashed a couple of days into his first GT (Giro) and was on a stretcher in an ambulance when he climbed out, asked for his bike and carried on! He got rave reviews in the Italian media for his grit. Nice one, Matt 👍

[@Xavier0458]

Cadel Evans!! One of the toughest tour wins I’ve ever seen! Responding to all of the mountain attacks without help from a team day after day!! Throw a world championship, a giro and a big handful of other stage races in the mix and you have yourself one TOUGH Aussie!

[@podderz]

... and finished a tour with a torn ACL.

[@hermanngerman8002]

EPO

[@mikemorbuk298]

Gino Bartali's advise, is one of the best I've heard in my entire life.

[@OldDocThedan]

Who's the guy that held the Highest Annual Mileage record until about a year ago? And still holds the fastest record to pedal 100,000 miles? Tommy Godwin. If you wanted to beat his 1939 record you would have to ride about 205 miles a day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. FOR A YEAR. But that was on an old bike, bad roads, worse tires, etc. Think he did it w/ a 3 speed internal hub. And during wartime food rationing. There are ample tough folk in this sport but, to me, he's up there.

[@georgeflutey5925]

If that storys true then yes, he would be a contender.

[@stuartboyd6340]

Me !! I had a three mile paper round to do every morning in all weather's and I had to ride my mum's bike with a 3 speed sturmy archer

[@luismedeiros7139]

Gino is probably the only one on the list than transcends cyclism by being such a legend of a human being, besides there's out there much more tougher non professional riders riding thousands of kilometers by themselves with no support like Mike Hall (RIP), Kristof Allegaert, Juliana Buhring, Jesse carlson, Sarah Hammond and many more "ordinary" humans that do amazing feats by themselves.

[@markcuskelly]

Kelly is the toughest of the lot !! Absolute King ❤️

[@robbchastain3036]

Thank you, Matt, great selections. And for your next list of tough customers, please consider a couple of American greats, Major Taylor and Greg LeMond, with a nod of respect to Andy Hampsten and his 7-Eleven mates, not to mention the other new arrivals to the pro peloton in the '80s, that great decade of old v. new school.

[@sidjones9896]

Greg Lemond for winning two Tours after being shot on a hunting trip, and Dan Martin for finishing this Tour with two fractured Vertebrae

[@john_john_john]

Never heard of Gino Bartali, but mad respect! That quote was something else.

[@IThee-hw8oj]

Never heard of Bartali????????????... do you cycle?

[@yitzyspinner8630]

On behalf of Jewish cyclists everywhere, thank you for mentioning Bartali’s heroics during World War 2. The book Road to Valor does an excellent job describing how he repeatedly put his own life at risk to save his fellow countrymen.

[@NismoDJ20]

And did you know you're an absolute fool?

[@ganainm2025]

I got that book out from the library a while back. I had never heard of Gino Bartali before. You are right, it is an excellent read. Bartali truly was an inspirational man. lee a dorney - you are an idiot.

[@samsonian]

Did you know "this Jew" (me) hasn't seen a red cent from it? Go to hell, you racist f***. "The Jews" don't own the Fed....the major banks (corporations) have all the shares. And yes, I wish we had shut them AND the Fed down in 2008. RIP Gino, you were a great man and truly your brother's keeper.

[@edmarkey4057]

I loved that book! What a story...

[@udumann]

Yitzy Spinner = the best of the best you are and GINO = a real lamid vuvnick

[@T1agos]

Joaquim Agostinho crashed in a time trial and fractured is head. After the crash, he picked his bike and finished the stage. The next morning he went into coma and was pronounced dead 12 days after the crash.

[@yossarian644]

Pretty sure we'll be able to add Mathieu Van der Poel to the list after his career. What he did in Flanders, I haven't seen anyone do in a classic in the last decade. Tough as nails.

[@zachc253]

Johnny Hoogerland stands out in recent times.

[@jordanake]

Saw his jersey in his local cafe the other day. Surprised it wasn't ripped and covered in blood!

[@martijnvreys2910]

First name that came to my mind as well

[@themarco280]

Johnny molded his career by being a hardmen.

[@patrickjoseph3618]

Agreed!

[@darrenjanes]

'Shut up legs'! Suffered plenty for others, not only for own opportunities!

[@enricolionello9044]

Brilliant, GCN hooked me up again on cycling. And few months ago I was so lucky to draft on the wheel os Sean Kelly. Thanks Matt

[@beigemaster]

How about Dan Martin for getting in the top 10 of this year’s Tour with (in effect) a broken back! 😮

[@sweetthecyclist2054]

Maybe not one of the toughest cyclists ever, but definitely one of the toughest in today's peloton!

[@robjones3420]

beigemaster86 agree that was a real effort

[@HitchHikersBlues]

Trust me, you do when they become infected. And they would have to be bad for Kelly to quit with 4 stages to go.

[@BukeChinaski]

beigemaster86 Dan Martin is one of greatest.

[@2ara2musiccentral18]

Dan Martin 100% my favourite rider maybe cos I’m irish I would not say he is tougher than king kelly as of yet let’s wait until he retires and we can fully evaluate his career. Also what bout Stephen Roche I mean the man nearly killed himself going up the mountain was unconscious for 15 mins cos he clawed A 1:30 deficit to 7 secs and went on and won the tour although maybe not the toughest rider I think he deserves an honorable mention

[@CakewalkHootenanny]

I think bartali continued mountain stages in the giro after crashing and breaking his collarbone. He wrapped a tube around the side of the handlebar where the fracture was so he could pull on the bar while climbing. He had the tube between his teeth! Google the photos. He was a hard man.

[@OliverPickard]

bloody good video Matt I didn't know that about gino bartali

[@parkerhunt7826]

I'll give you a tough cyclist. Ed Jesson in 1900 wanted to be at the goldfields in the Yukon/Alaska territory in the spring. using a single speed bike, warm clothes, newspapers and a few blankets and food he set off down the frozen Yukon river for over 1000 miles in the dead of winter and made it averaging 40 miles or so a day and sleeping in snowbanks or shacks along the way. Hard man status by any standard.

[@stuartdryer1352]

I'm pretty new to this sport and I love learning about its icons. Thanks for this video.

[@jtl909]

Tyler Hamilton won a stage in the '03 TDF with a fractured collar bone. That's pretty tough!

[@viniciusvideobox]

jtl909 I've seen Tyler do this, it was awesome

[@JustJooZt]

Cool profile picture dude

[@anunaybiswas1]

I think Tyler was also 2nd or 3rd in giro 2002 with a broken shoulder blade . He can endure pain like no one else.

[@frogeggsyeah5138]

I wonder if the painkillers the team made him took were legal, sorry he could've been a tough cyclist but we didn't know if he took only legal medication, as we all know his team didn't really mind a bit of cheating. It would be wrong to include him in this list together with Eddy Merckx, Hinault etc...

[@Ayog06]

jtl909 I do remember that year. Impressive no doubt

[@bennymanfrost]

Johnny Hoogerland for sure in recent times- that was an epic launch into barbwire and he kept riding! He needs to be recognized for that

[@Rustomhavewalla]

Beautiful. So happy to know all this. Thank you so much.

[@jordanake]

The last of the hardmen to retire - Tom ' Tommeke' Boonen. 4 Roubaix, 3 Flanders, Green jersey and Worlds. Hardman.

[@ewouteveraert5174]

Museeuw. Nearly died two times and twice came back to win Roubaix two more times

[@Darek80]

Ewout Everaert Paris Roubaix is not race... It's war. Everyone who cross the finish line is hero.

[@marvinvanderhorst9116]

Ewout Everaert hmmm. With all the wasps to help.....

[@arklat]

Anyone who raced in the early TDF's, was waaaaaay tougher than ANY modern day racers. The bikes, the distances, the roads, lack of support, made their efforts MONUMENTAL!

[@adambeevers3679]

Geraint Thomas for doing the whole of the tour with a broken pelvis. Adam Hansen for doing a stupid number of grand tours in a row, the last year with a bad saddle sore. And how about Mark Beaumont? Nuff said!

[@GaryForeman-gh6fu]

The Badger for me! Not only did he win with sheer aggression and determination, he also brought order and respect to the pro peloton in the 70’s & 80’s. Superb champion!

[@readTomTurner]

Hippolyte Aucouturier... and pretty much any cyclist from the sport’s nascent days. Those guys rode stages upward of 470km... on unpaved, dirt roads, through the night with no lights, on heavy, steel, single gear bikes.

[@claibornebell5414]

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor would be a great addition to this list with all the adversity he rode through and what he accomplished. Please check him out!!

[@norgler584]

The toughest of all was the Portugese rider Joaquin Agostinho. When asked if cycling was tough, he reminded people of the war in Mozambique he had fought in, that was tough. In his last race he fell a few kilometers before the finish over a dog crossing the road. He broke his skull but remounted his bike and died shortly after finishing.

[@vivoslibertos]

Tom Last - it's tough not so to see him appear on screen :(

[@geryon]

I was expecting to see Mark Beaumont on this list.

[@tobortine]

100% agree - If he's not a tough rider who is?

[@mateuszzdyb3547]

christoph strasser :)

[@hartleywallace2157]

Same

[@BukeChinaski]

geryon he is not tough, he is the Toughness itself. The man is a beast, I have an enormous respect for Beaumont.

[@glennzornig4978]

Remember that Merckx suffered an injury in a derny crash that handicapped him throughout his riding career. To break the hour record in Mexico City with the pain of a previous injury is amazing.

[@jeffhebert8963]

there is a great picture of Hinault fist fighting with some protesters blocking the road at the Tour. good illustration of his toughness

[@Thomas_Ekstrom]

Andrei Tchmil is one of those hardmen, and of course Mr Paris-Roubaix who won all classics Roger De Vlaeminck !

[@mckalec]

Alberto Contador. Highly successful, stood up to Lance on Astana, succeeded some more, broke his leg in the Tour in 2014 and then went to win La Vuelta the same year.

[@garyosullivan5759]

Great video. Contains the three cyclists I like and admire most

[@owenvermeulen1231]

George Hincapie also rode the tour with a broken collarbone in 2009. Tyler Hamilton I'm sure had more "medication" for his break than George, not to mention Hincapie's Paris Roubaix top 5 against basically a whole team (3vs1)

[@jimmyjazz60]

For Hinault, you should have put the picture of him about to punch the protester! :)

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Which time?

[@jimmyjazz60]

I was just aware of one. lol. Spring race, LaVie Claire jersey.

[@anparsons70]

"G" must be getting close to top hard man status, 15 stages of TdF with a broken pelvis. Far too many small injuries to count and never seems to abandon until he needs hospital treatment.

[@edylorenz3149]

Jacques Anquetil is on my list.

[@jonthedoors]

Um... I think you're fogetting Fiorenzo Magni. Came 2nd in the 1956 Giro, after breaking his collarbone, having to ride an ITT while pulling on his handlebars using an inner tube with his teeth; crashed on Stage 16, broke his elbow and passed out from the pain only to stop the ambulance and continue the race. He then fought through blizzards and still continued to finish on the podium because he's a hard bastard

[@evanbulock1895]

Emanual and Thomas Goguen. Thomas, Emmanual and myself have Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic lung disease. We do hours of therapy everyday to keep our lungs up and running. We race for RaceCF, a team raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. We strive to encourage and inspire other Cystic Fibrosis patients, and show them how beneficial an active lifestyle is toward living a long, heathly life with Cystic Fibrosis.

[@stuartdryer1352]

Evan Bulock The fact that you can race with CF inspires me. Chapeau.

[@danielellis2874]

you went a different way to what i thought with this one, boonen and cancellara came to mind at first but after watching the video jensie is the man

[@michielvanderwal1276]

Robert Gesink and Annemiek van Vleuten. Robert has suffered numurous crashes and even heart problems and is now again on the way back! Annemiek van Vleuten fell during the Rio Olympics on her way to a certain victory. After just a few weeks she won the first race she partcipated in, a prologue.

[@mattiasantangelo9421]

Fiorenzo Magni Giro '56: hard crash and broken left clavicle, decides to continue the race holding a inner tube attached to the handlebar with his theets, because his left arm had no power for driving the bike. few days later another hard crash, broken humerus: he passes out and wakes up on a ambulance, says the docs to leave him alone and gets back on the bike. he will finish that giro 2nd overall. he was also known for being extremely solid in bad weather conditions: won 3 tours of flanders with cold and rain. Passed away in 2012 aged 92: LEGEND.

[@DoraeMew]

Alejandro Valverde for a consistence fitness throughout a racing season, also throughout his career. One of the most toughest cyclist in 21st century.

[@AndreaRoll]

Bartali lost his best years because of the war and was able to win both before and after it. The man was a freak on the bike

[@b1rdmn]

I was expecting to see some ultra endurance cyclists on this list. Kristoff Alegart, Sarah Hammond, Mike Hall - all have achieved some incredible feats... Sarah Hammond was the ONLY finisher in the Race to the Rock in 2016 after hike a biking for miles and miles through knee deep mud, and won it in 2017.

[@xavcarmic0686]

Greg Lemond. Returned with shotgun pellets in him and was still great.

[@spaghettiman4947]

Nice video, BTW the accent in Bartali is on the first a.

[@59altair]

Definitely Marco Pantani. One of the toughest ever!

[@philliplovesthwkiel]

Jens Voigt,he might not have the titles,but staying in the front for as long as he did, it's remarkable

[@scottnglsh]

I went through the back of a car windshield in the caravan, lost a tonne of blood and rode 60 more kilometres! Does that get me on the list?

[@B.r.o.t.h.e.r.2]

Scott English is it on Strava 😉

[@beachcottage3740]

Maybe the list of guys not to follow by less than a bike length...

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Happened to Davis Phinney too, and he didn't make it either, so at least you're in good company.

[@grobson4]

Gino Bartali. Favourite of these four because his reported actions and values indicate eternal and selfless wisdom.

[@tandemcaptain]

Museuew (or however he spells his name!) What a comeback, what guts. And Andy Hampsten in that Giro OMG!

[@DerekNewtonKeswick]

It would be nice to have some career retrospectives with interviews with the rider(s) if possible? Gilberto Simoni would be a great start.

[@antonio_fidalgo]

For me, the toughest Cyclist I ever seen is Tom Last. Everytime I go in a bicycle ride and I start thinking about give up and turn back home due to exhaustion or pain I think about how Tom Last simply "lastes" and conqueer all the pain and exhaustion life throw to him and it makes me keep going. Someday people will give him the credit he deserves!

[@333wheeler]

Probably most of Merckxs Domestiques and the 3 or4 guys he used to batter off his wheel in the spring classics

[@tombolo22]

Best GCN video ever. Nailed it. 4 out of 4.

[@parkerhunt7826]

I think in that '74 Giro Merckx did a 25 mile TT in 49 minutes in the middle of a hard stage race all on a non-aero bike, equipment and clothing.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Lance Armstrong is featured on the video "World's Greatest Cycling Cheats" Don't miss it!!

[@dannyhanny1191]

So nice to have some solid cycling history here on GCN.

[@josha882]

Interesting to learn more of the tough riders of back in the day. However, I would love to see a part two with modern day tough riders.. (Voigt, Chris Anker, Hoogerland etc)

[@architectwmf]

Brilliant. Couldn't go past your selection. Contemporary hard men would be interesting also

[@msammy21]

Toughest female cyclists please! :)

[@tjk2943]

Jens Voigt?!

[@lisapet160]

Shutup legs!

[@krovek]

DO WHAT I TELL YOU!

[@Shadowboost]

How did he not make this list

[@heliofaleirosjunior5499]

Voigt was a savage who love to make people suffer hehe , tough , brave and very entertaining to watch

[@su3316]

@@Shadowboost because this channel would never salute a rider from the epo era.... Stupid if you ask me.... In tdf and pro cycling, drugs has been there since the beginning and was looked upon as necessery AND professional up until 60'ish....

[@scottwomack7110]

Great video. Could you guys do one explaining some of the race strategies used in TdF?

[@garthly]

People (like Bartali) who used their toughness to help others are, for me, significantly tougher than those (like Armstrong?) who were simply tough to promote themselves at others’ expense.

[@glenndaly3975]

Jacky Durand dislocating his shoulder and putting it back in and jumping back on the bike and just always attacking. Jens Voigt ...such an impressively strong rider who made everyone suffer... but how many other riders have crashes and just jump back on as if it's nothing...just so many.

[@bikejumpercass27]

Fiorenzo Magni, fought his way out of an ambulance with a broken clavicle to finish second at the Giro!

[@dbalz5212]

I think Johnny Hoogerland deserves mention as he was sent into a barbwire fence by a media car in the 2011 tour and still finished the race while needing to be stitched up after the race was over. Good thing the next day was a rest day...

[@hinault1986]

I think you got it spot on! There hasn't been a rider since the era of Kelly that comes close to any of the riders you mentioned. They used to ride the whole season, every race... and they always rode to win, period. Today's era of the "specialist" has eliminated the concept of the truly tough and gritty rider...well maybe Sagan comes close...

[@jsem94]

Some performances that deserve mentions are the likes of Andy Hampsten on the Gavia, Philippe Gilbert winning Amstel with a broken rib, Charly Gaul's dolomite 1956 exploits or 1958 Tour, Coppi with many performances - including the famous Cuneo-Pinerolo, 1946 MSR among others. If going by pure hardmen we can't forget riders like Jens Voigt, Wim van Est, Johann Museeuw etc.

[@peterslegers6121]

Hampsten had warm hands, due to special gloves and a new kit on top of the Gavia. Johan van de Velde, who came first on top, rode with summer clothes in his purple jersey. He was incapacitated by the cold. Erik Breukink, shivering, with cold hands, 3rd on the top, had the guts to descend faster than Hampsten. Erik won the stage!

[@jsem94]

@@peterslegers6121 Very true!

[@bluelineriderlsd3548]

@3:20 I was expecting something like a liquid when they mentioned secreted.

[@Philobiblion]

Good short list. I would add Charly Gaul and Roger de Vlaeminck.

[@billbill2032]

Me!! I once rode to the corner store and then back with a news paper in my left hand!! 2 long blocks!!! 😮

[@lb211151]

Sorry, no can do. You should have been holding that paper with both hands, reading it while riding.

[@martinkingston1498]

I hope the physical demands of that trip didn't leave you with permanent injuries!

[@weswheel4834]

You did it twice? In that case, definitely.

[@mr.actiongal1017]

newspapers are heavy man

[@cyclingbikerwholovestotinker]

Hi Matt, where do you get your stats from, reading books? I've just starting road cycling a year or so ago and I'm loving reading the books published about these legends both past and present.

[@willjewitt5398]

Great video!

[@tomthumb3500]

Fantastic video.

[@asem1738]

A very tough sport, something way beyond the comment warriors of the KZbin comment section.

[@tmfrs2]

Arya Semiyari why did you delete your other comment, is it because you were being a comment warrior yourself?

[@asem1738]

Because I commented something wrong by accident

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Eddy's 525 career victories will never be surpassed and never in the same style either.

[@nerdly44]

Lawson Craddock, Johnny Hoogerland, Cadel Evans.

[@brianangell1764]

I nominate Mark Beaumont. Especially for his comments about saddle sores.

[@Intelligent_investor]

What about Johnny Hoogerland (getting ,,barbed wired''), Alberto Contador (20km with a broken leg), Tyler Hamilton? This video wasnt really about being toughest but attacking.

[@DiegoCamarero]

add Alejandro Valverde as (whenever) he retires. He's attacking every single day; racing Giro + Tour + Vuelta the same season despite being over 36 y.o.; conquering the rainbow jersey at 38 y.o. plus wining 14 races shortly a year after that horrendous crash that smashed his knee and ripped his arsehole among other bad injuries. That bastard is relentless. Can't help liking him.

[@esthergagnon457]

Hello :) Only want to ask you if you also can (and want) make a video about the top females cyclist of all time? Have a great day :)

[@melaniemint7757]

Agreed!

[@Darek80]

Very good idea.

[@Katieforty4]

Amanda Coker - the woman who holds the overall Highest Annual Mileage WR and the 100,000 mile WR, broken after 77 years, should be in there. Especially since this came after being thrown 50 feet from her bike being hit by a car at 55 mph. Her bravery to even ride again is astonishing never mind what she went on to do.

[@lawrencebosch2646]

Greg Lemond without a doubt ! Never any support from his French team .. Always told to back off when Hinault was dropped.

[@rodgu2153]

All I got to say is that I'm still not going out if there is a drop of ☔️

[@balikolaci1]

Laurent Jalabert, Joop Zoetemelk, Johan Musseuw, Zdenek Stybar, Erik Zabel, Paolo Bettini.

[@WELLBRAN]

Hardest cyclist... Many of those guys riding into the night on steel bikes with inner tube wrapped around them.