Chris Froome overtakes Tom Simpson in Cycling Weekly's All-Time British Ranking
Chris Froome now sits in fourth place in Cycling Weekly's All-Time Ranking of British Pro Riders behind Mark Cavendish, Robert Millar and Bradley Wiggins
The ranking was devised in order to compare the performances of British male road riders from different eras, with points awarded for high placings in races and time spent in the race lead. The more difficult and prestigious the race, the more points are awarded.
Froome sits in fourth place, ahead of Simpson in fifth. Aside from this year's Tour performance, Froome won the 2013 edition of the race, finished second overall in the 2012 edition, and also some of the world's most prestigious stage races including the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Romandie.
Sprinter Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) tops the CW ranking by a large margin, and has added to his tally with a victory on stage seven of this year's Tour. Cavendish has 133 professional wins to date, more than any other British rider in history. It's highly likely he will add to this in the very near future.
Chris Froome on the podium after winning Stage 10 and retaining the Yellow Jersey of the 2015 Tour de France (Watson)
(Image credit: Watson)
In second place is Robert Millar, the Scottish climber who won stages in all three Grand Tours and took the mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the 1980s, as well as finishing fourth overall in the 1984 Tour and second overall in the 1987 Giro.
Third is Sir Bradley Wiggins, who amassed a huge and unprecedented haul of victories in 2012 including the Tour de France, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Critérium du Dauphiné and Olympic time trial gold. His collection of Olympic and world titles since 2000 could be augmented as Wiggins aims for the 2016 Games in Rio.
Froome only needs to spend a further few days in the Tour de France race lead to eclipse Wiggins's score in our ranking. Overall victory in the Tour could see Froome move up to second place behind Cavendish.
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Simpson was a pioneer in British cycling in the 1950s and 1960s, the first of his nation to wear the yellow jersey of Tour de France leader and the first to win the road race world championships. He also counts victories in the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Nice, Tour of Lombardy and Milan-San Remo in his palmares. He won two stages of the Vuelta a España in 1967, but tragically died riding up Mont Ventoux in that year's Tour de France.
Tom Simpson
Cycling Weekly's All-Time Ranking Top 10
Updated on July 14 2015
1. Mark Cavendish 3,550 points Pro: 2007-present 2. Robert Millar 2,900 points
