Originally Posted by
lagrassa
He did this with technologically inferior equipment and training regimes as compared to today. In my mind, he holds the bar to which other cyclists are measured.
Uh, in the '70s everybody had "inferior" equipment. Except for the smaller French teams that had even more inferior equipment. It's all relative.
What made Merckx special is that he was a factor in every race he entered. On the other hand, while he could be beaten in any of those races (except, perhaps, his first TdF), he often was not. What made Lance special is that in his specialty, the TdF, he was unbeatable (except, perhaps in 2003).
Cycling, like all sports, has become more scientific and professional with more specifically target goals. Just like the corporations that sponsor the teams.