deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
Yes, it's counting professional wins. So, anyhow, 99, 96 or a hundred - do we just take our pick?
[SPOILER] :Three days de Panne
- Thread starter Monsieur Remings
- Start date
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smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
I was pondering this the other day when they were discussing it on Eurosport and got to wondering how he compares with other great sprinters, so looked up some numbers. It's worth noting that none of the all-time greats (Zabel, Maertens, Kelly etc) seem to know exactly how many races they won over their career. Merckx supposedly won 525 races but I wonder if that figure is verifiable...
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Define a professional win...
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
eeks!
I guess I've no idea how a pro winning a largely amateur race would count, I just assumed that there was a widely accepted usage of the term and that l'Equipe was following this.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
I don't know either, and tbh I don't think it matters all that much, but 2007 is generally regarded as his debut season as a pro (at least, I've heard it said many times that by winning 11 races that year, he equalled Petacchi's record for number of wins in a "debut season"), so I guess anything before that doesn't really count. Unless you want it to…
In 2006, with Sparkasse, he won two stages of the Tour of Berlin which afaict is/was a 2.2 race... So should that count?
Who knows?
Anyway, sod this - I'm going out to ride my bike.
In 2006, with Sparkasse, he won two stages of the Tour of Berlin which afaict is/was a 2.2 race... So should that count?
Who knows?
Anyway, sod this - I'm going out to ride my bike.
Well, someone must have counted them, so it must be. The trouble is, there will be grey areas, and the figures might vary according to who does the counting - we already have 94, 95, 99 and 100 for Cav.
More than 500 races for Merckx really is mind boggling though, isn't it? Makes me laugh, when I think that not so long ago, people were saying a certain Texan was the best ever rider.
Just for interest, what's the figure for Kelly?
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Kelly seems to be 188, but I've also seen 196.
Zabel is "over 200" but that's as precise as I've found.
If Cav goes on as long as Zabel, he could pass 200.
Merckx's win count is beyond human comprehension anyway, whatever the real number.
Zabel is "over 200" but that's as precise as I've found.
If Cav goes on as long as Zabel, he could pass 200.
Merckx's win count is beyond human comprehension anyway, whatever the real number.
It's not just the numbers that make Merckx so amazing, it's the variety of races, climbs, sprints, classics, GT's, time trials etc.
Strathlubnaig
Guru
- Location
- Alberta
It's not just the numbers that make Merckx so amazing, it's the variety of races, climbs, sprints, classics, GT's, time trials etc.[/quote]
Not a bad record for someone who would nowadays be refused a race licence. Thank goodness.
