Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945 in Meensel-Kiezegem), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. He won the Tour de France five times, won all the classics except Paris-Tours, won the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a España, won the world championship as an amateur and a professional, and broke the world hour record.

Jacques Anquetil (8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1959 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the yellow jersey on day one and wear it all through the tour, a tall order with two previous winners in the field - Charly Gaul and Federico Bahamontes - but he did just that. His victories in stage races such as the Tour were built on an exceptional ability to ride alone against the clock in individual time trial stages, which lent him the name "Monsieur Chrono".

Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya (born 16 July 1964, Villava, Navarre) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He is best known for winning the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995, becoming only the fourth person to win the event five times, and the first to win five in a row. Indurain's ability and physical size— (6 ft 2 in) (176 lbs)—earned him the nickname "Miguelón" or "Big Mig".

Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Reno, Nevada.

In 1986, LeMond became the first American cyclist to win the Tour de France. In 1987, he was accidentally shot and seriously injured in a hunting accident (by his brother-in-law), taking two years to recover before returning to win the Tour again in 1989 and 1990, becoming one of only eight cyclists to have won the Tour three or more times.

Bernard Hinault (born 14 November 1954 in Yffiniac, Brittany) is a French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985. He came second in 1984 and 1986 and won 28 stages, of which 13 were individual time trials. The other four to have achieved at least five victories are Jacques Anquetil (1964), Eddy Merckx (1974), Miguel Indurain (1995) and Lance Armstrong (2003). Even among these elite riders, he is the only one to have finished either first or second in each Tour de France he finished.

Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American professional road racing cyclist who is best known for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He currently rides for UCI ProTour team Team RadioShack.

Alberto Contador Velasco (born 6 December 1982 in Pinto, Madrid) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Astana. He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the Discovery Channel team, and the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, and the 2009 Tour de France with Astana. He is the fifth racer in history, and the first Spaniard, to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling.