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Cyclingnews 2006 Reader Poll Results
Best male road rider
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Again, a classics rider triumphs at the Cyclingnews reader polls! 2005 crowned Belgian sprint monster Tom Boonen, and this year's award goes to the unpredictable "Grillo" Paolo Bettini. Both have achieved their most beautiful seasons within the Quick.Step team of Patrick Lefévère - a pure coincidence?
After a rather uncertain start to his 2006 season, when Bettini and his classics' rival Boonen fought for leadership within the squad, the small Italian has shown that at 32-years-old, he knows just what it takes to realise his greatest dreams. When Bettini soared over the finish line at the Salzburg World Championships, the Olympic gold medalist added one more of the biggest victories ever to his palmarès. And when he won the Giro di Lombardia just weeks later, only days after the tragic death of his dear brother, all of us identified with him even more deeply.
More than 21% of Cyclingnews' readers voted for "Il Grillo" in this category of best male road rider. Runner-up Alejandro Valverde scored nearly 15% of the votes for his astounding Flèche Wallonne/Liège-Bastogne-Liège double. Another classics rider...
Third place goes to Alexandre Vinokourov for his tenacious Vuelta a España victory and missed opportunity for Tour de France revenge, no doubt. The Kazakhstani, who beat Valverde on his home turf in September, got very close to Valverde with a little more than 13% of the votes.
Results
Votes %ge 1 Paolo Bettini 2399 21.3 2 Alejandro Valverde 1682 14.9 3 Alexandre Vinokurov 1491 13.2 4 Floyd Landis 1265 11.2 5 Tom Boonen 1207 10.7 6 Ivan Basso 739 6.5 7 Jens Voigt 582 5.2 8 Robbie McEwen 415 3.7 9 Fabian Cancellara 311 2.8 10 Carlos Sastre 279 2.5 11 Erik Zabel 217 1.9 12 Thor Hushovd 175 1.6 13 Oscar Pereiro 147 1.3 14 Dave Zabriskie 80 0.7 15 Stuart O'Grady 71 0.6 16 Levi Leipheimer 62 0.5 17 Sammy Sanchez 56 0.5 18 Damiano Cunego 51 0.5 19 Andreas Kloden 50 0.4 20 Filippo Pozzato 8 0.1 Total: 11287
