A melancholy weekend for cycling enthusiasts.

Not only because with Il Lombardia on Saturday for the championship and with Paris-Tours on Sunday in the leagues, the Fantacycling season ends, but also for the last races of the career of three great champions who have made the history of our favorite sport: Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Philippe Gilbert .

Those who are a few years older have been able to admire them in front of the TV or live along the streets for almost twenty years. He has seen them win big rounds, classic monuments and world championships, he has seen them beat much more experienced opponents or overtake the most explosive youngsters. And he saw them carry out a mission: to make many people fall in love with cycling, the one made of effort and elegance, respect for the opponent and passion for two wheels.

Here are some numbers: together, Valverde, Nibali and Gilbert have won 265 races .

The Spaniard, who turned 42, turned professional in 2002. He won 1 World Championship in line, 4 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 5 Freccia-Vallone, 1 Vuelta with 12 stages won, 4 stages in the Tour, 2 times the Classic by Sebastian and an endless series of stages and minor races.

Then there is Vincenzo Nibali: the Squalo, a professional since 2005 and now 37 years old, made the ' treble ', winning the Giro, Tour and Vuelta with 13 fractions conquered between Corsa Rosa and Grand Boucle. In the palmares also 2 Lombardia, 1 Sanremo and 2 Tirreno-Adriatico. In addition to the successes, for another 7 times he was on the podium of the great laps.

And finally Philippe Gilbert: prof since 2004, the Prince who loves Italy and the classics has reached the age of 40, winning 4 Amstel Gold Race, 1 Liège, 1 Roubaix, 1 Flanders, 1 World, San Sebastian, 1 Freccia Vallone and 2 Paris-Tours. In between, something like 7 stages in the Vuelta, 2 stages in the Giro and 1 in the Tour.

Exceptional numbers for out-of-class riders, inimitable protagonists of a cycling that, without them, will no longer be the same.

And what is your best memory that binds you to these three great champions? And for the last races will you field any of them?

Photo Sprint Cycling

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