3. Roger Hammond
3. Roger Hammond
Roger Hammond made his name at the Spring Classics, flying the British flag with multiple top-ten finishes on the cobbles.
A two-time British champion on the road, Hammond, now the manager of the Madison-Genesis team, honed his skills in cyclo-cross – a discipline in which he claimed the British title no less than eight times – and put them great use when it came to tackling the pavé.
Hammond thrived when the going got tough and tamed the cobbles like no other Brit before him, claiming his best result when he was third behind Magnus Backstedt in the 2004 edition of Paris-Roubaix, while he also came close to winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2007, placing second behind team-mate Marcus Burghardt having ridden in the break for much of the day.
Career highlights: The two-time British champion enjoyed multiple top-ten finishes at the cobbled Classics, including third at Paris-Roubaix in 2004.