I was just browsing the final results from the Tour and I noticed a couple of names way back in the overall standings that jumped out at me.  Perhaps others were surprised by the seemingly indifferent approach to riding that was adopted this year by more than a few big names of previous years.  Bear in mind that I'm not going to cover GC disappointments like Michael Rogers or Brad Wiggins, riders who fought without success for a top placing or stage win and ultimately came up well short.  At least those guys left it out there on the road, not so for the following list of riders:

1) Yaroslav Popovych - Remember when this guy was billed as the "Eddy Merckx of the junior circuit"?  Then he was billed as Lance's hand picked successor at Discovery?  Only to be later re-dubbed Cadel Evans' "right hand man in the mountains"?  Next he was a breakaway specialist and an outsider for one week races.  Finally he seemed to hit rock bottom at this year's Tour where his primary task seemed to be to act as Lance's shadow for 3 weeks.  The same Lance that finished 23rd and was hopelessly out of contention by the end of the first mountain stage.  Aside from pulling for Lance on the cobbles for a few k's on stage 3 he served absolutely no purpose for Radio Shack. 

2) Simon Spilak - OK, he's not a household name, but he was elevated to the winner of this year's Tour of Romandie after Valverde's suspension and seemed to specialize in the hilly stages that were common during the mid point of this year's race.  However prior to abandoning the race in the final week the Slovak rider was an anoynmous face in the bunch, perhaps contributing to Petacchi's lead out sprint train but never once showing himself at the front of the race.

3) Kevin Seeldrayers - Was named the best young rider of the 2009 Giro and was apparently held out of this year's Giro edition so he could focus on making a memorable Tour debut in July.  Unfortunately like Spilak Kevin was never seen at the front and spent most of the 3 weeks in the laughing group just trying to make the time limit.  Quite a difference from last year's mountainous Giro when he was very active in the final week of the race and even managed to steal the best young rider category from Thomas Lovkvist.  Was he sick or out of form?  Or it this just another indication that the Giro is a poor barometer for later Tour success?

4) George Hincapie - Another ex-Discovery rider who just seemed to being going through the motions this year.  Freed of his responsibilities as a lead out man for Cavendish in the closing meters of each stage one could have imagined Big George being an animator of breakaways in the first week of the race, particularly the stage 3 into Arenberg.  Instead he had his worst Tour in years, never looking like a threat for a stage win.  Is age catching up to Hincapie or was he just preoccupied with other non race related matters?

Those are my picks.  Please feel welcome to submit any others names that I may have missed.

And I say 25 years because my memory does not extend beyond 1985 or so. :)

But basically I was just curious to hear what parameters would be used and what riders would ultimately merit inclusion into your personal cycling hall of fame?  Would victory in at least one grand tour be necessary to qualify? (If so great riders like Johan Museeuw and Erik Breukink would find themsleves out in the cold)  Would a rider like Breukink even qualify in your book? (3 grand podiums in the late 80's/early 90's)  Would your personal standards be so high that only the very elite of the elite (namely riders like Indurain, Lemond, Kelly, Armstrong, Contador, etc.)  would make the cut. 

Personally I'm willing to include riders who consistently excelled in all types of races, the grand tours, the one day races, the sprints, TT's and the one week races.

So, with that in mind, here would be my cycling hall of fame from 1985 onward: (and in no particular order)

1) Greg Lemond

2) Miguel Indurain

3) Lance Armstrong

4) Alberto Contador

5) Moreno Argentin

6) Johan Museeuw

7) Sean Kelly

8) Mario Cipollini

9) Mark Cavendish

10) Laurent Fignon

11) Laurent Jalabert

12) Pedro Delgado

13) Gianni Bugno

14) Tony Rominger

15) Fabian Cancellara

16) Paolo Bettini

17) Oscar Freire

18) Alejandro Valverde

19) Marco Pantani

20) Jan Ullrich

Some omissions that I felty needed explanations:

Stephen Roche  - He had one incredible year in 1987 but aside from that he was dogged by injuries and never even finished in the top 5 of a grand tour again. 

Claude Criquielion - Very consistent in the one day classics throughout the 80's, particularly the Ardennes, but he lacked a great sprint and was seemingly always a little weaker than Moreno Argentin who was the master in those races.

Michele Bartoli - Very strong in the late 90's but his career was ruined by a nasty crash in the Tour of Germany in 1999.  Made a decent recovery afterwards but was never the same rider again.

Claudio Chiappucci - Very aggressive rider who like Criquielion also suffered from a poor sprint.  His career reached its apex in 1992 with that incredible stage victory in Sestrieres, but after that it was a steady decline in the grand tours.  He won Milan San Remo and San Sebastian, but not much else.

Andy Schleck - A work in progress.  He still needs to close the deal and win a grand tour, which might prove difficult since he seems determined to focus all his energies on beating Contador at the Tour.  His Liege victory was very impressive, and if he can improve his TT skills he can be the total package.

Michael Boogerd - Very consistent, but not enough big victories

Alexandre Vinokourov - Had one outstanding year in 2003, and of course his Tour of Spain victory 2006 and Liege Bastogne Liege victory in 2005, but aside from those victories not much else in the big races.

Damiano Cunego - Like Schleck, he's still a work in progress.  4 one day classic victories and a grand tour win is impressive, but he needs to win Liege or the Worlds one day to take his place alongside Argentin and Bettini as one of great Italian single day riders.

Maurizio Fondriest - Incredible in 1993, and victory in the world in 1988, but back problems and Laurent Jalabert ruined the remainder of his career.

Roberto Heras - 3 victories in the Tour of Spain, but what else?

So, that would be my list of Hall of Famers and near misses from the past 25 years, anyone else want to share their thoughts?