Ranking the greatest Grand Tour riders has gotten complicated with all the era arguments and doping shadows flying around. As someone who has spent way too many hours arguing about this exact topic in cycling forums, I learned everything there is to know about why these five riders stand above everyone else. Today, I will share it all with you.
Fair warning: this ranking is impossible to do objectively. Eras differed dramatically. The 1990s and 2000s cast long shadows. Statistical comparisons across decades are nearly meaningless. But that’s never stopped cycling fans from arguing about it, and it won’t stop me now.
1. Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
Grand Tour Victories: 11 (5 Tour de France, 5 Giro d’Italia, 1 Vuelta a España)
There’s no argument here. Eddy Merckx is the greatest cyclist who ever lived, Grand Tours included. His dominance was so complete that he earned the nickname “The Cannibal”—he devoured the peloton and left nothing for anyone else.
Merckx didn’t just win Grand Tours; he won them overwhelmingly. Multiple stages per race. Mountains classification. Points classification. He wanted everything and took everything.
That’s what makes Merckx endearing to us cycling obsessives—his competitiveness bordered on pathological. He attacked when he didn’t need to. He won stages when leading by 10 minutes. He viewed any day without victory as personal failure.
Some argue his era was weaker. Maybe. But Merckx’s approach was so relentless that he would likely dominate any era. His five Tour victories could easily have been seven without injury and bad luck.
2. Bernard Hinault (France)
Grand Tour Victories: 10 (5 Tour de France, 3 Giro d’Italia, 2 Vuelta a España)
The Badger was ferocious in ways even Merckx wasn’t. Hinault attacked when injured. He attacked teammates. He attacked journalists who annoyed him. His personality was as dominant as his legs.
Five Tour de France victories matched Merckx and Anquetil. His complete set of Grand Tour wins (at least one of each) demonstrated versatility. His racing style—explosive attacks rather than steady tempo—made him uniquely entertaining.
The LeMond controversy clouds his legacy. Did Hinault honorably support his teammate or treacherously attack him? The 1986 Tour’s answer depends on who you believe. But that drama is part of why Hinault remains so compelling.
Knee injuries ended his career younger than Merckx’s. A healthy Hinault might have challenged for additional Grand Tours into his mid-30s.
3. Miguel Indurain (Spain)
Grand Tour Victories: 7 (5 Tour de France, 2 Giro d’Italia)
Indurain was different from his predecessors. He didn’t attack constantly; he time-trialed opponents into submission. His physical gifts—enormous lungs, perfect aerobic efficiency—allowed sustained efforts that crushed rivals without apparent drama.
Five consecutive Tour victories (1991-1995) is a feat never repeated. Each year, challengers emerged believing they could break him. Each year, Indurain calmly destroyed them against the clock.
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Critics call Indurain boring—he just rode tempo and won time trials. But that criticism misses the point. His dominance was so complete that he didn’t need to attack. That’s not boring; it’s terrifying efficiency.
His Giro victories demonstrated he could win elsewhere when motivated. But the Tour was clearly his priority, and prioritization doesn’t diminish legacy.
4. Jacques Anquetil (France)
Grand Tour Victories: 8 (5 Tour de France, 2 Giro d’Italia, 1 Vuelta a España)
Anquetil was the first rider to win five Tours de France, blazing the trail that Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain would follow. He was cycling’s first great time trialist, using stage races’ individual efforts to build insurmountable leads.
His personality was complex—elegant, arrogant, openly disdainful of rules he considered stupid. Anquetil didn’t pretend to love suffering; he simply endured it better than others.
The 1964 Giro-Tour double demonstrated extraordinary physical capacity. Racing a Grand Tour, then immediately winning another, was nearly inconceivable before Anquetil proved it possible.
5. Fausto Coppi (Italy)
Grand Tour Victories: 7 (2 Tour de France, 5 Giro d’Italia)
Coppi’s career was interrupted by World War II during what should have been his prime years. Despite losing several seasons to military service and imprisonment, he still accumulated five Giro victories and two Tour wins.
The rivalry with Bartali defined an era and divided Italy. Coppi represented modernity and scientific training; Bartali represented tradition and Catholic virtue. Their battles were sporting and cultural simultaneously.
Coppi’s climbing was revolutionary. His thin frame seemed to float uphill while heavier rivals ground their gears. War years lost, earlier death than contemporaries—Coppi’s legacy is defined partly by what might have been. But what was remains extraordinary.
Honorable Mentions
Tadej Pogačar: Already three Tour victories by age 25. If he stays healthy, he’ll challenge for this list by career’s end.
Chris Froome: Four Tour victories before injury. The Sky/INEOS dominance era was real, whatever you think of how they achieved it.
Alberto Contador: Three Tour victories (two stripped), two Giro victories, three Vuelta victories. Complicated legacy but enormous palmares.
Gino Bartali: Three Giro victories, two Tour victories, separated by ten years and a war. Also saved hundreds of Jewish lives during the occupation, which matters more than any race result.
