Mark Cavendish (GBR)

Only three men in cycling history have won more Grand Tour stages than Manxman Mark Cavendish, so it is little surprise to see him on the list.

Victory on stage six of this year’s Tour de France, his third of the race so far, took him to 29 stage wins at the Tour – only Eddy Merckx (34) has more – and, with 15 victories at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Vuelta a Espana he is closing in on a career half-century.

A points classification winner at all three Grand Tours, Cavendish has also worn the leader’s jersey at all three – completing the set with victory on stage one of the Tour de France.

Grand Tour stage wins: 47 (Giro d’Italia – 15; Tour de France – 29; Vuelta a Espana – 3)
Stand-out moment: Cavendish won four times in succession on the Champs-Elysees, but his 2011 victory sealed the green jersey for the first – and only – time, with HTC-HighRoad at the height of their sprinting domination.

Marcel Kittel (GER)

Marcel Kittel has already won stages of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2016, recapturing the sprinting prowess which has made him one of the most feared sprinters in the bunch.

His first Grand Tour stage win came at the 2011 Vuelta a Espana, before the German announced himself as a serious contender with four stage wins at the 2013 Tour de France.

Victory in Belfast, at the Giro d’Italia, the following year completed his Grand Tour triple and kick-started a remarkable run of form on British shores as he also won in Harrogate, London (twice) and Liverpool at the Tour de France and Tour of Britain that year.

Grand Tour stage wins: 14 (Giro d’Italia – 4; Tour de France – 9; Vuelta a Espana –1)
Stand-out moment: Kittel had already proved himself with three victories at the 2013 Tour de France, but de-throned Mark Cavendish on the final stage on the Champs-Elysees to end the Manxman’s four-year winning streak in Paris.

Alejandro Valverde (ESP)

Alejandro Valverde was the first of, to date, three riders to complete a Grand Tour triple in 2016 – winning stage 16 of his first ever Giro d’Italia.

Third place in that race was his seventh Grand Tour podium finish, and allowed him to add stage victory in Andolo to his four Tour stage wins and nine at the Vuelta.

Valverde has also won the Vuelta a Espana in 2009 and three times pulled on the green points classification jersey, in 2012, 2013 and 2015, thanks to his consistently high stage finishes across flatter, hilly and mountainous stages in his home race.

Grand Tour stage wins: 14 (Giro d’Italia – 1; Tour de France – 4; Vuelta a Espana – 9)
Stand-out moment: Making his Giro d’Italia debut, aged 36, Valverde attacked on the final climb of the hilly stage to Andolo to complete his Grand Tour triple – by going on to finish third overall, he is one of only 16 men to finish on the podium of all three Grand Tours.

Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)

Giro d’Italia champion Vincenzo Nibali is the only current cyclist to have both won all three Grand Tours and won stages at all of them – Alberto Contador was stripped of his two 2011 Giro stage wins.

Nibali’s tally includes five wins at the Tour de France, four of which arrived in 2014 as he dominated the Tour – taking the yellow jersey with victory in Sheffield and only surrendering it for one day between then and Paris.

The Shark of Messinah has 12 Grand Tour stage wins in total, but two of his six victories at the Giro d’Italia were awarded retrospectively – Alberto Contador (2011) and Mauro Santambrogio (2013) being stripped of their wins after beating him.

Grand Tour stage wins: 12 (Giro d’Italia – 6; Tour de France – 5; Vuelta a Espana – 1)
Stand-out moment: Vincenzo Nibali was untouchable at the 2014 Tour de France, and was already well clear overall when he launched a stinging attack on the Hautacam climb to win stage 18 – his fourth stage victory of the race – and prove his domination.

Daniele Bennati (ITA)

Though 35-year-old Italian Daniele Bennati’s star has faded in recent years – his last Grand Tour stage win came at the 2012 Vuelta a Espana – Benna proved himself as a canny sprinter between 2007 and 2008 in particular.

During that period, Bennati did not only win stages at all three Grand Tours but also topped the points classification at both the 2007 Vuelta a Espana and 2008 Giro d’Italia.

Formerly a lead-out man for Mario Cipollini, Bennati’s success at the 2008 Giro – which completed his Grand Tour triple – saw him clock three stage wins in all, with a young Mark Cavendish his chief rival.

Grand Tour stage wins: 11 (Giro d’Italia – 3; Tour de France – 2; Vuelta a Espana – 6)

Stand-out moment: Having won the points classification at that year’s Giro d’Italia, Bennati led the Vuelta a Espana after stage two, and promptly out-sprinted Tom Boonen to claim victory in the red jersey the following day.

Philippe Gilbert (BEL)

There wasn’t much Philippe Gilbert could do wrong in 2011, and – in the Belgian champion’s jersey – he completed his Grand Tour triple by winning the opening stage of the Tour de France.

Already a stage winner at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana by that point, victories have dried up slightly since he became world champion in 2012, however.

Nevertheless, in the rainbow jersey, the Belgian won stage 12 of the 2013 Vuelta – his only victory during his 12 months as world champion.

Grand Tour stage wins: 9 (Giro d’Italia – 3; Tour de France – 1; Vuelta a Espana – 5)

Stand-out moment: A clean sweep of the Ardennes Classics and victory in the Belgian national road race meant Philippe Gilbert arrived at the 2011 Tour de France in supreme form – and he proved it, winning the first stage to swap his national colours for the yellow jersey.

Michael Matthews (AUS)

Victory on stage ten of this year’s Tour de France made Michael Matthews the 89^th rider to complete a Grand Tour triple – and the third to do so in the 2016 season.

Australian Matthews has also led both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana and the 25-year-old’s ability on the tougher uphill finishes looks set to stand him in good stead for more Grand Tour success in future.

Matthews’ victory in Revel was also the Orica-BikeExchange’s first win at the Tour de France for three years – a year after a disastrous Tour which saw three riders abandon injured in the first week and Bling complete the Tour despite breaking his ribs in the stage three crash.

Grand Tour stage wins: 6 (Giro d’Italia – 2; Tour de France – 1; Vuelta a Espana – 3)

Stand-out moment: After taking over the pink jersey, courtesy of the team’s time trial win in Belfast and a high placing in the bunch sprint the following day, Matthews openly targeted the uphill finish into Montecassino on stage six – and, still in the pink jersey, the Australian delivered exactly as promised, winning from a late four-man attack.

Simon Gerrans (AUS)

Simon Gerrans wore the yellow jersey after stage success, and team time trial victory, at the 2013 Tour de France but it was four years earlier that he completed his Grand Tour triple.

Riding for the Cervelo Test Team, Gerrans won stages at both the 2009 Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, to add to victory at the Tour the previous year.

Despite several one-day wins, and four overall triumphs at the Tour Down Under, the former Team Sky man still has just the four Grand Tour stage wins to his name, however.

Grand Tour stage wins: 4 (Giro d’Italia – 1; Tour de France – 2; Vuelta a Espana – 1)
Stand-out moment: After a hilly third and final stage on Corsica at the 100^th Tour de France in 2013, Gerrans outsprinted Peter Sagan to claim Orica-GreenEDGE’s first Tour de France stage win. Their second arrived the following day, in the team time trial, giving Gerrans the yellow jersey.

Tom Dumoulin (NED)

Already established as a solid time triallist, Tom Dumoulin proved his potential as a Grand Tour rider at the 2015 Vuelta a Espana with two stage wins, holding the red jersey up until the penultimate stage, when Fabio Aru distanced him in the mountains.

Dumoulin won the opening stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia, however, to briefly wear the pink jersey before completing his Grand Tour triple with a stunning solo stage win in Andorra on stage nine of the 2016 Tour de France.

With four stage wins to his name in less than 12 months, big things are expected of the 25-year-old Dutchman in future.
Grand Tour stage wins: 4 (Giro d’Italia – 1; Tour de France – 1; Vuelta a Espana – 2)
Stand-out moment: Tom Dumoulin completed his Grand Tour triple with a dogged ride on the 2016 Tour de France’s Queen Stage. Tackling the fierce gradients of the Andorran mountains, Dumoulin soloed to victory to complete a remarkable 12 months at the Grand Tours.