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Grand Tour greats
Steven LynchOctober 31, 2014
Vincenzo Nibali's win in the Tour de France this year means he has won all three big Tours - France, Italy and Spain. How many other people have done this? asked Chris Bromage
Italy's Vincenzo Nibali completed his nap hand of the three Grand Tours this year by winning in Paris: he lifted the Giro d'Italia in 2013, and the Vuelta a Espana in 2010. He's the only rider to have won just one of each.
Five other riders have won all three. Top of the list is the great Belgian rider Eddy Merckx, who won five Tours de France, five Giros, and one Vuelta (in 1973, when he did not ride in the Tour de France for contractual reasons; he'd won the previous four, and would win again in 1974).
France's Jacques Anquetil was the first to complete the set, doing so in 1963, and he was joined by Felice Gimondi of Italy in 1968. The Frenchman Bernard Hinault is a close second to Merckx with 10 Grand Tour wins, including five in France. He completed his set in 1980.
Finally Spain's Alberto Contador joined this exclusive club by winning in Italy and Spain in 2008, the year after his first Tour de France victory.
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