This debate goes on in every sport. Could Jim Brown have been as successful now as he was when he played? Babe Ruth? I suspect that if you teleported Merckx into today's TDF he would fall flat. The sciences behind bicycle aerodynamics, training and nutrition alone are far more advanced then when Merckx was raced. Its apples and oranges but who really cares? Incidentally I read a quote from LeMond who noted that his VO2 max would only be in the 51 percentile of today's riders whereas it was in the 90's when he raced.
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