All-Time Best Road Cyclist 2007 - 8th Edition Part 5
Current & Historic Rider Ranking Sections: VII. Highest Scores in One Season, VIII. The Old Grand Champions

By Daniel Marszalek

VII. Highest Scores in One Season (all results over 400 points)
This statistic truly confirms imperial status of Eddy Merckx in the history of road cycling. Six best yearly results belongs to “Cannibal”, who has also his seventh best score among top-10. Interestingly his superb 1973 score could have been even higher if not for Giro di Lombardia disqualification.

Apart from Merckx, his compatriot and long time enemy Freddy Maertens has two scores in top-10, with the remaining one belonging to Frenchman Laurent Jalabert. “Jaja” was the last man to join this list after his tremendous breakthrough year of 1995. Except for Merckx and Maertens other riders to enter his list more than once were Bernard Hinault (four results) plus Fausto Coppi & Sean Kelly (two times).

1. Eddy Merckx 1 (1973) - 791,3 points
2. Eddy Merckx 2 (1972) - 761,2
3. Eddy Merckx 3 (1970) - 700,5
4. Eddy Merckx 4 (1974) - 696,3
5. Eddy Merckx 5 (1971) - 622,5
6. Eddy Merckx 6 (1969) - 618,85
7. Freddy Maertens 1 (1976) - 583,5
8. Laurent Jalabert (1995) - 581,45
9. Eddy Merckx 7 (1975) - 572,5
10. Freddy Maertens 2 (1977) - 540,6

11. Sean Kelly 1 (1986) - 511,4
12. Stephen Roche (1987) - 504,5
13. Bernard Hinault 1 (1979) - 501
14. Sean Kelly 2 (1984) - 488,5
15. Francesco Moser (1978) - 481,85
16. Miguel Indurain (1992) - 469,85
17. Luis Ocana (1973) - 467,3
18. Fausto Coppi 1 (1949) - 466,9
19. Bernard Hinault 2 (1981) - 432

20. Roger De Vlaeminck (1975) - 429,15
21. Bernard Hinault 3 (1982) - 428,3
22. Fausto Coppi 2 (1952) - 421,7
23. Bernard Hinault 4 (1978) - 419,9
24. Gianni Bugno (1990) - 417,75
25. Giuseppe Saronni (1979) - 416,95
26. Joop Zoetemelk (1979) - 414,8
27. Laurent Fignon (1989) - 407,15
28. Alfredo Binda (1927) - 402,9
29. Jacques Anquetil (1961) - 402,4

VIII. Old Grand Champions (with results till 1939)
Since top-16 of the ranking consists only riders who raced only (or at least scored majority of their points) after World War II this statistic is the way to commemorate oldest of champions. This is the table for grand old champions with heavy bikes, gravel roads and monstrous distances.

The best rider from this era is Italian Alfredo Binda - triple world champion & five times Giro d’Italia winner. Next two men on such podium are the first "Campionissimo" Costante Girardengo and Nicolas Frantz of Luxembourg. In the top-10 there are four Italians and Frenchmen, while the other two places are taken by riders from Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, country which now seems to be experiencing it's renaissance thanks to Kirchen and Schleck brothers.

Pre-1939 Grand Champions
1. Alfredo Binda (Italy, 1922-36) - 2049,4 pkt
2. Costante Girardengo (Italy, 1912-36) - 1437,6
3. Nicolas Frantz (Luxembourg, 1923-34) - 1410,55
4. Learco Guerra (Italy, 1929-39) - 1299,7
5. Antonin Magne (France, 1926-39) - 1228,3
6. Francois Faber (Luxembourg, 1906-14) - 1203,5
7. Gustave Garrigou (France, 1907-14) - 1202,95
8. Gino Bartali (Italy, 1935-39) - 1093,4 *)
9. Andre Leducq (France, 1927-39) - 1074,3
10. Henri Pelissier (France, 1911-28) - 1040,75

11. Giovanni Brunero (Italy, 1920-29) - 1023,2
12. Gaetano Belloni (Italy, 1915-31) - 991,6
13. Philippe Thys (Belgium, 1912-27) - 874,5
14. Louis Trousselier (France, 1902-14) - 869,7
15. Mariano Canardo (Spain, 1926-39) - 808,9 *)
16. Jean Alavoine (France, 1909-25) - 797,5
--- Emile Georget (France, 1905-14) - 797,5
18. Eugene Christophe (France, 1904-26) - 782,8
19. Lucien Petit-Breton (France, 1902-14) - 770
20. Goerges Ronsse (Belgium, 1926-38) - 751

*) Italian Gino Bartali rode for twenty years from 1935 to 1954 and in all this time scored 2.860,15 points. But he took a majority of them in the late 40’s and early 50’s - after World War II. Meanwhile a rider born in Basque Country, Mariano Canardo, was a true cycling king of Catalan region with numerous wins in the old Volta a Catalunya stage race. He took most of his points by the mid-30’s, but finished his career in 1943 after adding a couple of more points during Second World War which didn’t hit Spain – a country already trying to rebuild itself after horrific Civil War of 1936-1939.

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