Best track sprinter

Fixey

I still say winning ten world titles in a row puts him ahead of the pack. Seen Kopylov get cleaned up over here by an unknown Jap. It is a shame we will never no definitively. Would have been awesome to see these guys square off.

atduk92

To be honest, I think this has answered why Kopylov was not on the list to start with, he had a very short lived career compared to most of the others. Although I was never a fan of Nakano I agree that his record was pretty special, an open sprint comp at that time would certainly have given us plenty of entertainment.

3rensho

Voted Nakano. Not that I'm biased or anything.

EoinC

Nakano fits the bill with me. I remember when he was racing and the total domination that he made in the World Championships.
The theory that the Russians and East Germans would have cleaned him up, had they raced the professional class, is supposition based on the times. Times are impressive, but Sprinting is about beating the other riders in your heat - ie. you go as fast as it takes to win, not necessarily as fast as it is possible to go. Having seen the way Nakano rode, I would imagine (more supposition) that he would have risen to the occassion, had the Eastern Bloc riders moved across to the professional ranks.
I remember Gordon Singleton as a great sprinter, yet he couldn't match Nakano. I also remember that Nakano seemed to ride the sprints as a bit of a jaunt away from Japan's Keirin circuit. He was pretty successful at those jaunts.
If we were going further back in time, I'd have to give some kudos to Reg Harris for his amazing comeback at 51 years of age.

atduk92

I dont think that the idea of the East Germans beating Nakano is purely based on times, they were faster but they were also very tactical, if you ever had the chance to see them in action it was obvious that they really knew how to race. Many people talk of sprinters being fast or being tactical, but to be a top flight sprinter you must be both, you are not likely to succeed at world level if you lack one of those vital elements.

I agree that if you were to look further back in time Reg Harris deserves recognition as a truely great sprinter, his comeback and subsequent win of the British Sprint title at 51 was very impressive, however there has always been a rumour that it cost him a few hundred quid to buy that win.

dumbell

italic undefinedI think you missed out some really great sprinters from the list you gave us to vote on,possibly the greatest sprinters ever.Jeff Scherns of Belgium World Pro sprint champion,1932,33,34,35,36,37,and 1947 quit a record. Antonio Maspes of Italy who was was world sprint champion six times at least it may have been seven I cant remember,but he clocked a 10.8 200 meter time to win the world pro championships in 1962!! Jan Derksen, Reg Harris,and Daniel Morelon round out the list they were all truiy fantastic riders who all had many years at the top at a time when sprinting dominated cycling and all the money was to be made on the track.

fergie

Hesslich, just an legend on the bike. Hubner, an animal and Fielder with pure class.

Nakano would have been out of his league against those guys.

Hamish Ferguson

Tubbs

well... not exactly the best sprinter of all but I had the privilege to see 1982 World Keirin Champion Gord Singleton in action at the Forrest City Velodrome in London Ontario this past saturday. I must say... he took most of young guys to school. He's still fast and a tactical master.

rickt

While Nakano's feats say a lot, it must be remembered that any athlete's placing is really only as impressive as the level of his/her competition. Having been watching every sprinter in action since 1970 (let alone the 80's) I have to say that the later titles won by Nakano weren't really all that impressive. On the other hand I don't believe I ever saw Hesshlick win when not impressive. I have also had the pleasure of watching the sprinter with possibly the "FLASHIEST" turn of speed (on his day) I have ever seen, Gary Neiwand. He just couldn't get it together often enough when it counted. So Lutz gets my nod every time in this poll.

6002

It's not easy to compare athletes from different era's. As they can only be as good or slightly better than there contempuraries.

Hesslich was one of the best , no doubt about that.

Morelon was superb, he was such a pedaller therefore you didn't notice the speed in which he was going.

Niewand was very, very good. Fast , furious and a competitor.

And before my time, but I did have the opportunity to road ride with him was Reg Harris. Certainly one of the most powerful men of his day. They were turning out 11.2's on big ashphalt and concrete tracks, and using 1" pitch gears.

From the other men on the list, I really liked the way Fiedler handled himself. He had all of the tools to be the great sprinter that he was.

6002

Lasalles

Just afew thoughts on Oz sprinting of recent years,firstly Neiwand,what a great stalwart for Oz cycling he was.I remember being at the 2000 Olympics where Gary was racing the Keiren.He had no right to even make the final but he did anyway and what a performance he gave.The crowd went wild especially after the Maddison gold with McGrory and Aitken,Neiwand led it out and looked home into the finish straight until Florian Rousseau pipped him for gold.
I remember Darryn Hill,what an imposing sight this guy was.I thought the guy would be at the top for years.It still amazes me that neither Neiwand or Hill medaled at the 96 Olympics yet Ryan Bailey was able to win double gold in 04.I would have backed Neiwand and Hill every day of the week to beat Bailey.
Eadie was a breath of fresh air at the track,a World Champ,big,strong and a real showman especially at the major Opens events playing up to the crowds.
What have i been babbling on about,simple i guess im bored with the likes of Ryan Bailey,its a shame that past greats have moved on....

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Ricardo29

maybe you could spell his name correctly to start with...BaYley.

youngest ever world keirin champ. at 21.
commonwealth gold. at 22.
olympic sprint gold.
olympic keiren gold.

hell boring......the rest of them combined dont stack up to his record.

Lasalles

they were outstanding rides in Athens,thats why i also said i cant beleive that Neiwand and Hill were unable to medal at win at previous Olympics as i rate them better riders that BaYley

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Ricardo29

how can u rate them better ????

they are slower...and they havent won as much.
how else do u rate things?