Top 10 French cyclists of the 21st century: Many came close to ending the wait for French Tour winner, but it's the classics where France shined!
CyclingWednesday, 06 November 2024 at 23:00
France is one of the greatest powers in the history of cycling. However, the greatest legends they have had go back years. That is why in this article we want to talk about the best French cyclists of the current century. The figures of Julian Alaphilippe, two-time world champion, Romain Bardet or Thibaut Pinot, who have been on the podium of a Grand Tour, stand out in particular.
Despite having countless Tour de France winners, they have not won the Tour de France for more than 40 years. For the moment, it does not seem that there are no candidates for the next editions but we will see in a more distant future. Outside of three-week races, the French riders have been quite successful in the classics, particularly thanks to Alaphilippe and Christophe Laporte.
1. Julian Alaphilippe
- 2 Gold medals in the World Championships road race
- 3x Flèche Wallonne
- 6 stages at the Tour de France + 1 mountain classification
- Milano-Sanremo
- Clasica San Sebastian
- Strade Bianche
- Tour of California
- 4 stages at the Itzulia Basque County
- Tour of Britain
- 3 stages at the Tirreno-Adriatico
- Brabantse Pijl
2. Romain Bardet
- 2nd at Tour de France (+ 4 stages) + 1 mountain classification
- Tour of the Alps
- Stage at the Vuelta a Espana
- Tour de l'Ain
- 2nd in a World Championships road race
- Valence Drôme Classic
- Faun-Ardèche Classic
- 2nd at a Critérium du Dauphiné (+1 stage)
- 2nd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège
3. Thibaut Pinot
- Il Lombardia
- 3 stages at the Tour de France (+ 3rd overall)
- 2 stages at the Vuelta a Espana
- Milano-Torino
- Tour of the Alps
- 2x Tour de l'Ain
- Critérium International
- Mountain classification at the Giro d'Italia (+ 1 stage)
- 2 stages at the Tour de Suisse
- 2 stages at the Tour de Romandie
- 1 Tour of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var
4. Sylvain Chavanel
- 3 stages at the Tour de France
- GP Ouest France - Plouay
- 2x Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde
- 2x 4 Jours de Dunkerque
- 4x Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine
- Tour of Belgium
- Circuit de la Sarthe
- Twice 2nd at the Eneco Tour (+ 2 stages)
- Brabantse Pijl
- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- Tour of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var
5. Arnaud Démare
- 8 stages at the Giro d'Italia + 2 points classifications
- Milano-Sanremo
- Vattenfall Cyclassics
- 2x 4 Jours de Dunkerque
- 2x Paris-Tours
- 2x Brussels Cycling Classic
- Tour de Wallonie
- 3x GP d'Isbergues - Pas de Calais
- 2x GP of Denain
- 2x Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine
6. Warren Barguil
- 2 stages at the Tour de France + 1 mountain classification
- 2 stages at the Vuelta a Espana
- GP Miguel Induráin
- Tour du Limousin
- Stage at the Tirreno-Adriatico
- 2nd in the Tour of Norway
- Tour de l'Avenir
- 2nd at the Royal Bernard Drôme Classic
- 2nd at the GP de Wallonie
- 3rd at the Tour de Suisse
7. Thomas Voeckler
- 4 stages in the Tour de France + 1 mountain classification
- GP Quebec
- GP Ouest France - Plouay
- 2x Tour of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var
- 2x Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine
- 2x La Route du Sud Cycliste - La Dépêche du Midi
- 4 Jours de Dunkerque
- Brabantse Pijl
- 2x GP du Morbihan
- 2 stages at Paris-Nice
- Tour of Luxembourg
8. Tony Gallopin
- Clasica San Sebastián and two times 2nd
- Stage at the Tour de France
- Stage at the Vuelta a Espana
- Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard and three times 2nd (+ 3 stages)
- GP de Wallonie
- Stage in Paris-Nice
- Flèche d'Emeraude - Saint Malo
- Stage in the Tour of Luxembourg
- Stage in the Tour du Limousin
9. Christophe Laporte
- Gent-Wevelgem
- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- Gold medal at the European Championships road race
- Stage in the Tour de France
- Tour of Denmark
- Paris-Tours
- GP de Wallonie
- 2x Tour de Vendée
- 2 stages at the Critérium du Dauphiné
- Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard
- Tour Poitou-Charentes in Nouvelle Aquitaine
- 2nd at the World Championships road race
10. Guillaume Martin
- Mountain classification at the Vuelta a Espana
- Giro della Toscana (+ 1 stage)
- Tour de l'Ain (+ 1 stage)
- Circuit Cycliste Sarthe - Pays de la Loire (+ 1 stage)
- Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes
- 3rd at the Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2nd at the Drôme Classic
- Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie
- Stage in the Tour du Limousin
claps 0visitors 4726
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Avoiding him is a good strategy, you get more wins and then you can compete in the TDF relatively relaxed. Pit yourself against Pogi and not only there will be no wins, it will be considerable mental setbackabstractengineer21-12-2024
- If you hold onto then, you blowup in a minute and then you finish 5 minutes down like Ben O'Connorabstractengineer21-12-2024
- Based on what argument?Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Agreed except the length of climbs, pretty sure you can stretch that to about a km unless we’re talking about half a dozen in quick succession.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Lot of contradictory information floating around world cup contenders, someone should do some tidying up.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- A bit much to suggest that Pogacar is better than MvdP on most terrains. The only terrain Pogacar is clearly better is long climbs, on any other terrain they are pretty even except flat cobbles and short and steep climbs (max a few 100 mtrs) where MvdP is clearly better than Pogacar.Velovibes21-12-2024
- The likelihood of RE improving enough at this point to outclass TP or JV is less than zero.verve82521-12-2024
- That’s the most stupid thing I’ve read for a long time, did you not go to school and learn even the most basic physics? Aero depends on one thing only, drag, drag depends speed and the relationship is squared and apart from maybe at zero or the speed of sound or due to side winds that relationship is valid at all speeds, it dies not “suddenly” start at a magic number. Very simply, the faster you go the more the effect becomes important. If you think 25km/h is needed to have noticeable effects you’re delusional, athletic WR are cancelled as soon as winds top 2m/s that’s 7.2km/h, why because the assistance is already too important at that speed and the times prove it. You don’t even consider wind which can significantly increase the effective speed for aerodynamics and you underestimate speed of climbs, 6% is ridden more at 30 than 25km/h, a speed at which early generation high rims were considered to have more advantages than disadvantages. And finally, as in normal races you can’t just switch bikes according to terrain, it’s pretty pointless to discuss climbs as a separate situation, the aero will have justified itself plenty during the rest of the ride.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- If you look at how much TP progressed in that 1 1/2 years you can no longer say that’s nothing. If Remco improves as much he’s a challenger!Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Froome wishing to ride the Vuelta...he won't even be selected for the team!frieders320-12-2024