Before the era of Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel, there was a period in road cycling where legacies clashed with rising ambition, and where every Grand Tour seemed like a question rather than a script. Between 2017 and 2019, the sport found itself in transition — and the stars who defined this moment weren’t just strong. They were storytellers on two wheels.
These were the riders who made us feel, not just admire.
Geraint Thomas: the reluctant champion
Long Froome’s dependable lieutenant, Geraint Thomas stepped into the spotlight in 2018 and never looked back. His Tour de France victory wasn’t built on explosive attacks but on quiet authority. With back-to-back wins in the Alps — including a historic triumph on Alpe d’Huez — Thomas rewrote the expectations of a domestique and became Britain’s most likable Grand Tour champion. He brought poise where chaos often reigns.
Julian Alaphilippe: France’s flash of joy
In a Tour increasingly ruled by control, Julian Alaphilippe was a lightning strike. His polka-dot heroics in 2018 — culminating in a swashbuckling solo win in Le Grand-Bornand — set the stage for his spellbinding run in yellow in 2019. For two years, Alaphilippe didn’t just race; he lit up the road. France hadn’t seen a rider race with this kind of reckless hope in decades, and it left an emotional mark on fans across the world.
Vincenzo Nibali: the last romantic
Though past his prime, Vincenzo Nibali remained essential to the story of the sport. His solo attack and heartbreaking crash on Alpe d’Huez in 2018 showed the old shark still had bite — and courage. That same year, he won Milan–San Remo with a daring solo move, holding off the sprinters in a defiant act of experience over odds. He rode not just to win, but to feel, and in doing so, he kept the flame of old-school racing alive.
Thibaut Pinot: brilliant and broken
No one embodied the fragile beauty of the sport more than Thibaut Pinot. In 2019, he delivered the ride of his life on the Col du Tourmalet, dropping GC rivals and winning solo. For a moment, it felt like destiny was finally bending his way. Days later, injury forced him out of the race in tears. It was devastating, but it sealed his place in cycling’s emotional core — not for what he won, but for how deeply people wanted him to win.
Peter Sagan: the final orar
By 2017, Peter Sagan had already conquered the sport’s style and substance — and yet these years saw him evolve. He won his third World Championship in 2017, a feat no one else has done consecutively. But his victories in this transitional era came with more effort and less showboating. Each green jersey and stage win carried the weight of defending a legend. These were his last truly dominant years — and they still sparkled.
Fabio Aru: a glimpse of the crown
For a few brief weeks in 2017, Fabio Aru looked like a man destined to win the Tour de France. He attacked Chris Froome on La Planche des Belles Filles, wore yellow, and seemed to carry the weight of Italy’s Grand Tour legacy on his slender shoulders. But as quickly as his form rose, it vanished. Aru’s star faded soon after, but in that summer, he gave fans a vision of what might have been — and of cycling’s brutal impermanence.
Tom Dumoulin: the almost king
Tom Dumoulin rode with elegance and intelligence — a time trialist turned true Grand Tour contender. His win at the 2017 Giro d’Italia made him the first Dutchman in decades to win a Grand Tour. In 2018, he pushed both Froome in the Giro and Thomas in the Tour, finishing second in both. For a time, he looked like the new template for an all-around GC rider — calm, rational, and powerful. Injury and burnout would later derail him, but these years were his peak — and they were glorious.