The Top Five Riders in the Tour De France Race

How do you rank the best riders in the Tour de France? The answer is ranking them by most Tour de France victories per lifetime. The list of top riders would include Lance Armstrong, Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil. The reasons they make the list is the racers are the only riders to win the tour over five times in the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong is the only rider who would be considered as a contender in this year's Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong won the Tour De France seven straight times from 1999 through 2005. Lance Armstrong became the face of the Tour de France, with more wins than any other racer and with the wins coming rather recent. He also had a romantic relationship with singer Sheryl Crow which also kept Lance's name in the media. Armstrong finished third in the 2009 Tour de France race according to bikeraceinfo.com.

Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil has won five Tour de France championships. He won his first in 1957. Then he won four straight from 1961 to 1964. Anquetil also finished third in 1959. The third win separates Jacques from the other racers.

Miguel Indurain

Miguel won five straight Tour de France races between 1991 and 1995. Indurain is from Spain and has won five of Spain's 12 Tour De France victories. HE won his five all a row and held a tied record until Lance Armstrong came around.

Bernard Hinault

Bernard Hinault was the French rider who won the Tour de France five times. Bernard won the race in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1985. Hinault has won five of France's 36 tour victories.

Eddy Merckx

The Belgium racer Eddy Merckx won the Tour de France five times. Eddy won 1969 through 1972 and again in 1974. Merckx has won 5 of Belgium's 18 Tour de France Championship.

Sources:

Bikerace.com

Wikepedia.org for stats