British trailblazer Hoban passes away

Titan of British cycling and Tour de France pioneer died on Saturday

- Adam Becket

Barry Hoban, one of British cycling's best ever riders, died on Saturday 19 April, aged 85.

The Yorkshireman spent 19 years as a professional in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly riding for Mercier-Hutchinson. Until Mark Cavendish, he was Britain's most successful Tour de France rider, winning eight stages between 1967 and 1975, along with two stages of the Vuelta a España. He remains the only British rider to win Ghent-Wevelgem.

He also held the record for most Tours completed by a British rider - 11 - until Geraint Thomas broke that last season. Hoban's palmarès also counts third-place finishes at both Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Roubaix.

“The best ride I ever did... Paris-Roubaix, 1972,” he said in 2020, when he was given CW's lifetime achievement award. “I was flying. I was right up there with everyone. [Eddy] Merckx, [Roger] De Vlaeminck, [Eric] Leman, all the top-notch riders going through the Arenberg Forest. You never want to puncture in the Arenberg - I did. I lost two minutes before a team-mate gave me his wheel.