With a résumé of victories that includes all three Grand Tours (all of them more than once), the World Road Championships and a number of classics, Hinault has often been cited among the greatest cyclists of all time. The "Historical Dictionary of Cycling" describes him as "one of the best riders ever". Comparisons are often drawn with Eddy Merckx, against whom Hinault rode at the beginning of his career. Lucien Van Impe commented: "Merckx was the greatest, but Bernard was the most impressive." A study conducted in 2006, ranking Tour de France riders from 1953 to 2004 by different performance indicators, put Hinault as the top Tour rider of that period, ahead of Merckx and Lance Armstrong.