Originally Posted by
Leinster
I think it helps that there wasn't a block in the 80s of one rider completely dominating the decade like you had in the 60s (Anquetil) 70s (Merckx) 90s (Indurain) or 00s (no winner here). Yes, 3 of Hinault's wins were in the 80s, but as you point out the amount of drama that went into that 85 win, and the contest with Lemond the following year, makes them stand out.
An older fan than me might argue that Anquetil's battles with Poulidor or Merckx's with Ocana were as/more exciting, though. I guess it depends on what you want out of the race.
Or an even older fan may go back to Coppi vs. Bartali. Merck's battles with Ocana and eventual loss to Thevenet were certainly great to follow.
I'm sure a lot of it is personal bias since the 80's is when I started following the Tour. If Lemond hadn't gotten shot he may have reeled off 5 straight. I do think the '85 & '86 Tours with changing of the guard dynamic, the '87 Tour with all the lead changes not being decided until the final time trial and the '89 Tour with resurrections of two former winners lead changes along with the closest ever finish all stand up as some of the most entertaining Tours.
I enjoyed Indurain's run since it was so impressive and he always seemed so cool under pressure. Since then I have had a hard time enjoying the Tour as much because of personalities (or lack thereof), doping and boring racing. I did enjoy Cadel's win just because of all the close calls he had previously and I'm naively clinging to the notion that he rode clean.