Alfredo Binda vs Costante Girardengo: “Broken Promise” - WCRR 1927
It is well known that Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo were not the best of friends. Girardengo, Italy’s first Campionissimo (“Champion of Champions”), dominated the racing scene of the early 1900’s, but a young superstar began to take some of the limelight and the animosity began to brew. There was no real friendship between the two superstars, they respected each other but nothing more. The pre- and post-race events of the 1927 World Championships brought hostilities to a head.
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Marcel Kint vs Rik Van Steenbergen: “Chase Down of a Belgian Teammate” - WCRR 1946
The 1946 World Championship Road Race was held in Zurich, Switzerland. After the 1938 race political turmoil in Europe was growing and the Second World War would stop the World Championships for eight years. A very fit Marcel Kint returned with high hopes of defending the 1938 WCRR.
The race saw Marcel Kint break away early in the race and ride solo into the closing kilometers. Kint's victory was almost assured of the win when controversy arose. Belgian teammate Rik Van Steenbergen chased down his teammate with 1938 amateur World Champion Hans Knecht (Sui) glued to his wheel.
The feud between two great Belgian champions would last for years.
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Fausto Coppi vs Gino Bartali: “A Titanic Rivalry”
Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi were two of the greatest Italian cyclists in the history of the sport. They dominated racing scene in the late 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. Both riders were intense competitors and had a Titanic Rivalry on the road.
Their rivalry captivated fans (the Tifosi) and helped to popularize cycling in Italy during their era.
The Italian press wrote of their story and exposed the tifosi to racing’s “fight on the road”. Their rivalry captivated fans and brought bicycle racing to new heights. The entire nation of Italy became polarized, you were either a Coppi-ista or a Bartali-ista.
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Louison Bobetvs Charly Gaul: “Monsieur Pipi Incident” - Giro 1957 “and the Revenge” - TdF 1958
It was no secret that Charly Gaul and Louison Bobet didn’t like each other very much. Gaul, a superior climber from Luxembourg, was nicknamed the Angel of the Mountains. Bobet, a superstar of cycling with multiple Tour de France and World RR Championships, was talented in all aspects of racing.
The friction between the two started in the TdF 1955. The young Luxembourger issued a challenge to Bobet: "I'm about to attack! Just make sure you can follow..." Bobet did not follow and Gaul won the stage by +13’54”. The young Gaul emerged as a star of the future and Bobet won his third straight TdF. But the grudge had begun.
The feud came to a head during the Giro 1957 and extended into the TdF 1958.
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Federico Bahamontes vs Jesus Lorono: “Clash of Spanish Egos”
Federico Bahamontes (a Castilian and the darling of the Franco regime) and Jesus Lorono (a true Basque and a fierce separatist) had the entire “Spanish / Basque” rivalry going during the late 50’s and early 60’s.
Bahamontes and Lorono both had huge “egos” that clashed. Their rivalry was fueled by pressure from their sponsors to get results and the passionate Spanish press to deliver sensational stories. Their “ego conflict” prevented them from being solid teammates on Spain’s National Team.
Their hatred for each other so intense that “personal success” became more about beating each other than winning a race. It was one of cycling's bitterest rivalries. There were lots of battles in the Vuelta, complete with drama on the roads and in the hotels, and their refusals to ride in the same teams. Basically, an extension of the Spanish civil war into the 1950’s.
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Louison Bobet vs Jacques Anquetil: “French Superstars and the Tour de France 1957”
Two major French riders Louison Bobet and Jacques Anquetil had an adversarial relationship. They were opposites and had a falling out when paired for the Trofeo Baracchi (2-man Time Trial) in 1954. The French team did not ride well together and finished second to Fausto Coppi and Riccardo Filippi.
The French rivalry between the two had started and it would spill over into the TdF in 1957.
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Rik Van Looy vs Benoni Beyeht: “a Belgian Hand on the Hip?” WCRR 1963 in Ronse (Renaix)
The World Champion in 1960 and 1961 Belgian Rik Van Looy entered the 1963 championships in Renaix (Ronse), Belgium with great confidence. Van Looy offered each Belgian team member $1,500 if Van Looy won the race. The Belgian team worked diligently as the final lead group of 28 riders approached the finish.
The finish seemed perfect for the Belgians until an impatient Van Looy jumped past his lead-out man too early. Suddenly on the opposite side of the road teammate Benoni Beyeht made a charge to the line. Instinctively Van Looy tried to “close the door” and moved left across the road forcing Beyeht to put out his hand. Was it a push, was it a pull, or was it just to avoid crashing?
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Raymond Poulidor vs Jacques Anquetil: “Pou Pou and Maitre Jacques Battle of the Puy de Dome” TdF 1964
Jacques Anquetil, the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times (1957, 1961 to 1964) and Raymond “Pou Pou” Poulidor, nicknamed "The Eternal Second" for never winning the Tour and achieving three second-place finishes and a record eight podiums.
Through his racing career Maitre Jacques struggled to gain the affections of the French cycling fans, while “Pou Pou’s” personality usually won the hearts of the French public.
Their TdF duels are legendary, and their racing styles helped form an iconic Tour rivalry!
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Eddy Merckx vs Rik Van Looy: “New Superstar vs Old Superstar and the 1965 Solo-Superia Team”
Nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after his hometown of Herentals in Flanders), Rik Van Looy dominated the Classics racing in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The 1964 amateur World Road Race Champion, Eddy Merckx, signed a professional contract to ride for Solo-Superia halfway through 1965. He earned his first professional victory in the Solo-Superia red jersey.
A feisty Emperor was known for his sporting rivalries spread over many of cycling’s greatest legends. In 1965 as the established head of Solo-Superia he began a new feud and started to butt heads with a young upstart named Eddy Merckx.
The developing feud between the two Belgian superstars remained for years.
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Eddy Merckx vs Freddy Maertens: “The Final Sprint” WCRR 1973
Eddy “the Cannibal” Merckx is the most successful rider in the annals of cycling history.
A young Belgian Freddy Maertens was fast becoming “the top sprinter of his era.”
Belgian racing was dominated by Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck, and breaking into this dominance was not easy. Maertens did not observe an unwritten rules for young riders and launched a “bull in the China shop” tactic to get noticed.
The animosity between the “God father of Belgian cycling” and “Belgian’s young Bull” was beginning to build in the early 1970’s.
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Greg LeMond vs Jonathen Boyer: “The Chase Down” WCRR 1982
The 1982 World Championship Road Race was held in Goodwood, Great Britain. The 275.4 km racecourse, 18 laps around a 15.3 km “Gloriously Tough Goodwood” circuit. The start list included the all the biggest pro-peloton stars.
The aggressive last lap entered the final 3 kms with a 30-rider peloton together. USA’s Jonathan Boyer attacked and went under the 1 km flag with a solid gap. USA teammate Greg LeMond took up the chase. Taking the gifted opportunity, Giuseppe Saronni (Ita) came off LeMond's wheel and flew to the WCRR victory.
Existing friction between Boyer and LeMond became a full flung American feud. The bad feelings last for years.
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Greg LeMond vs Bernard Hinault: “Team Orders TdF 1985” and “Promises Abandoned TdF 1986”
Bernard Hinault nicknamed “the Badger” because of his aggressive racing style. “As long as I breathe, I attack.” He was well established as a champion in the world of cycling.
Greg LeMond, a young American emerged on the racing scene with great potential to shake-up the cycling world!
Tour de France 1985, Hinault was chasing an elusive 5th TdF victory. LeMond was hired to support the Badger’s quest.
Hinault’s unfortunate crash at the end of stage 14 (TdF 1985) set into motion a series of “team orders” and “broken promises”. Both of which created the adversarial relationship between Hinault and LeMond.
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Stephen Roche vs Roberto Visentini: “The Sappada Incident” - Giro 1987
Irishman Stephen Roche battled ‘tooth and nail’ with his Carrera teammate and defending Giro champion Roberto Visentini for the 1987 Giro d’Italia victory.
This Giro will be remembered for dramatic racing, the intense rivalry and the bitter battles between two titans of the cycling world.
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Claude Criquielion vs Steve Bauer: “The CRASH!” - WCRR 1988 in Ronse
The biggest cycling controversy of the 1988 racing season came in Renaix (Ronse), Belgium. The 274 km World Championship Road Race lacked any excitement for most of the day as an eleven-rider breakaway approached the finish.
The controversial results of the final kilometer will cause a huge feud for years to come.
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Lance Armstrong vs Filippo Simeoni: “A Nasty Doping Story” - TdF 2004
The rivalry between Lance Armstrong and Filippo Simeoni revealed the darker side of cycling’s doping problem.
Simeoni, having used doping products and been suspended in 2001 and 2002, gave testimony in an Italian court against Dr. Michele Ferrari, an Italian sports physician who had worked with both Armstrong and Simeoni. Armstrong steadfastly defended the doctor.
Their rivalry came to a head during the Tour de France 2004.
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Tadej Pogacar vs Matteo Jorgenson: “Stage 7 Water Bottle Incident” - Tour de France 2025
The new feud between UAE’s Tadej Pogačar and Visma-Lease a bike’s Matteo Jorgenson came into focus during stage 7 of the 2025 Tour de France. Tensions were clearly high and increasing between Pogacar and his big rivals for the Maillot Jaune, the entire Visma-Lease a Bike team.
The most recent incident came in the late feed zone of stage 7 and has sparked a significant controversy. Pogacar got blocked trying to move right to get his own bottle and put his right hand on Jorgenson’s back appearing to push the American.
The move caused both to miss their bottles. Hostilities escalated.
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