Originally Posted by skydive69
Don't misunderstand me - He was one of the greatest of all times, and probably the greatest of his era. What I am saying is that had he been born many years later, and was currently about 30 years old, he could not possibly get away with the same tactics - it is a different world with an incredible amount of talent. Could Lance have kicked his butt - IMO - hell yes!
If you think he was "probably the greatest of his era" you need to go back and read a little history. He blew away everyone in his era. If you look at ANY site that tries to rate riders based on results Eddy always comes out first and by a large margin. There is one called The Cycling Hall of Fame. It stays with only the most elite races (so for stage races only the Tour, Giro and Vuelta). It only counts the finishing place, but it breaks things into stage races and one days. For the one days only 2 riders have more than HALF the points Merckx does. For stage races there are about a half dozen with more than half the points Eddy has. Overall only ONE rider has over HALF the points Eddy does. Results are similar under other systems.
While it is true Eddy would not be able to do what he did back then today one should remember that what he did would have been thought of as impossible before he did it. No one else has ever won all 3 Jerseys in either the Tour or Giro in one year, he did it in the Giro in 68 and the Tour in 69. Only Hinault has won all 3 in the Tour in a Career. No one else has all 3 in the Giro.
For my money the only performance that is comporable is Coppi winning both the KOM and GC in both the Tour and Giro in the same year. (Note there was no sprinters Jersey at the time).
Oh and if riders are so much better today why hasn't the hour record been shattered? It would seem an ideal way to fame.