The Most Famous

CYCLISTS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Cyclists. The pantheon dataset contains 1,613 Cyclists, 43 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 11th most number of Cyclists behind Denmark, and United States.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Swiss Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Cyclists.

1. Hugo Koblet (1925 - 1964)

With an HPI of 59.00, Hugo Koblet is the most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Hugo Koblet (pronounced [ˈhuːɡo ˈkoːblɛt]; 21 March 1925 – 6 November 1964) was a Swiss champion cyclist. He won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track. He won 70 races as a professional. He died in a car accident amid speculation that he had committed suicide.

2. Ferdinand Kübler (1919 - 2016)

With an HPI of 54.59, Ferdinand Kübler is the 2nd most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ferdinand Kübler (pronounced [ˈfɛrdinand ˈkyːblər]; 24 July 1919 – 29 December 2016) was a Swiss cyclist with 71 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France and the 1951 World Road Race Championship.

3. Fritz Schär (1926 - 1997)

With an HPI of 49.51, Fritz Schär is the 3rd most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Fritz Schär (13 March 1926 in Kaltenbach – 29 September 1997 in Frauenfeld) was a Swiss cyclist who in 1953 won the first points classification ever in the Tour de France. He also finished third in the general classification in the 1954 Tour de France. He was the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1953.

4. Fabian Cancellara (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 49.30, Fabian Cancellara is the 4th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam Lidl–Trek. He is known for being a quality time trialist, a one-day classics specialist, and a workhorse for his teammates who have general classification aspirations. He won two consecutive World Junior Time Trial Championships in 1998 and 1999. At age nineteen he turned professional and signed with the Mapei–Quick-Step team, where he rode as a stagiaire. After winning a few stages and small races in his starting years, Cancellara earned his first major victory at the 2004 Tour de France, where he won the opening prologue time trial and wore the race leader yellow jersey for one day. The following season saw fewer victories, but his 2006 season saw a victory in the men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships, along with victory at the Paris–Roubaix. Cancellara repeated as world champion in the time trial the next year, along with winning two stages at the Tour de France. During the 2008 calendar he won gold at the Summer Olympics in the individual time trial event and the Milan–San Remo. The next season saw Cancellara again become world time trial champion and lead both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. In 2010, he won the Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Cancellara's 2011 and 2012 campaigns were both short in number of victories, while the latter was hampered by injuries throughout. After a lackluster two-year period, Cancellara again won the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix double in 2013. In 2014, Cancellara repeated as winner of the Tour of Flanders. Since turning professional in 2000, Cancellara has ridden for four professional teams. He has achieved great success in the classic monuments; he has won Paris–Roubaix three times, the Milan–San Remo once, and the Tour of Flanders three times. Cancellara has won the opening stage of the Tour de France five times and has led the race for 29 days total, which is the most of any rider who has not won the Tour. His success has not been limited to just time trials and classics, as he has won general classification of the Tirreno–Adriatico, Tour de Suisse, and the Tour of Oman. In 2008, he won gold in the individual time trial and silver in the men's road race at the Summer Olympics. In 2016, he won Olympic gold in the individual time trial for the second time in his career. In addition, Cancellara has been the time trial world champion four times in his career.

5. Carlo Clerici (1929 - 2007)

With an HPI of 48.97, Carlo Clerici is the 5th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Carlo Clerici (3 September 1929 – 28 January 2007) was a Swiss professional road bicycle racer. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1954 Giro d'Italia.

6. Alex Zülle (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 48.68, Alex Zülle is the 6th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996.

7. Gianni Bugno (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 46.92, Gianni Bugno is the 7th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Gianni Bugno (Italian: [ˈdʒanni ˈbuɲɲo]; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.

8. Rolf Järmann (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 45.26, Rolf Järmann is the 8th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Rolf Järmann (born 31 January 1966 in Arbon) is a retired road bicycle racer from Switzerland, who was a professional rider from 1988 to 1999. He twice won the Amstel Gold Race (1993 and 1998) during his career. He was the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1990. He won the Tour de Pologne in 1997. He won a stage in the 1989 Giro d'Italia, the 1992 Tour de France and also won the 1998 Tirreno-Adriatico. According to a Cyclingnews.com report, in his book Doping, Spitzensport als gesellschaftliches Problem (Doping, Top Sport as a Social Problem), Järmann admits to using EPO.

9. Mauro Gianetti (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 45.02, Mauro Gianetti is the 9th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mauro Gianetti (born 16 March 1964 in Lugano) is a Swiss former professional road cyclist and later directeur sportif. Gianetti was employed as team manager for the Saunier Duval–Prodir cycling team throughout its existence between 2004 and 2011. Several riders have been sanctioned for doping violations that occurred during his tenure as directeur sportif, including Riccardo Riccò and Juan José Cobo. Gianetti currently sits on the Board of Directors of UAE Team Emirates. With over 30 professional victories, Gianetti's biggest career accomplishments as a rider include winning the 1995 Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Amstel Gold Race and representing Switzerland at the 2000 Summer Olympics. His son Noé Gianetti was also a professional cyclist.

10. Pascal Richard (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 44.35, Pascal Richard is the 10th most famous Swiss Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Pascal Richard (born 16 March 1964) is a French-speaking Swiss former racing cyclist. He is most notable as a former King of the Mountains winner at the Giro d'Italia and Olympic Games gold medalist. He won the Swiss National Road Race championship in 1989 and 1993.

People

Pantheon has 52 people classified as Swiss cyclists born between 1919 and 1999. Of these 52, 46 (88.46%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss cyclists include Fabian Cancellara, Alex Zülle, and Gianni Bugno. The most famous deceased Swiss cyclists include Hugo Koblet, Ferdinand Kübler, and Fritz Schär. As of April 2024, 9 new Swiss cyclists have been added to Pantheon including Rolf Järmann, Stefan Bissegger, and Mauro Schmid.