Mark Cavendish tops pro cycling's Twitter 'general classification'

British sprinter Mark Cavendish has the most Twitter followers, and tops the list of 784 riders from the WorldTour and Pro Continental level

Mark Cavendish wins stage two of the 2016 Abu Dhabi Tour

(Image credit: Graham Watson)

When it comes to social media, Mark Cavendish is at the top of his game. The British sprint star has the most followers to top the list of 784 pro riders from the WorldTour and Pro Continental-level who have Twitter accounts.

The Twitter data was collated by TB Pro Cycling, and lists all riders from the 18 WorldTour and 23 Professional Continental-level teams who have a Twitter account.

As of October 21, when the data was collated, Cavendish (Dimension Data) had 1,283,449 followers on the social media platform.

>>> Tweets of the week: Mark Cavendish, Alex Dowsett, Tom Dumoulin and more

Cavendish is only one of three currently active riders with over one million Twitter followers. Spanish Grand Tour rider Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) has 1,196,308 followers with current Tour de France champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) having 1,179,961.

There is then quite a drop after the 'big three', with Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in fourth spot with just over 700k followers, followed by compatriot Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) with 590k followers.

British Twitter favourite Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) – who Cycling Weekly readers voted as their favourite tweeter in 2015 – is 11th in the list, with 287k followers.

Last on the table is Polish rider Patryk Stosz (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) with 20 followers.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
PosnRiderCountryTeamTwitter Total
1Mark CavendishUKTeam Dimension Data1,283,449
2Alberto ContadorSpainTinkoff1,196,308
3Christopher FroomeUKTeam Sky1,179,961
4Nairo QuintanaColombiaMovistar701,707
5Rigoberto UranColombiaCannondale-Drapac590,465
6Peter SaganSlovakiaTinkoff538,465
7Fabian CancellaraSwitzerlandTrek-Segafredo493,075
8Vincenzo NibaliItalyAstana469,523
9Alejandro ValverdeSpainMovistar294,661
10Geraint ThomasUKTeam Sky287,473
11Tom BoonenBelgiumEtixx - Quick-Step251,488
12Frank SchleckLuxembourgTrek-Segafredo225,404
13Joaquim RodriguezSpainTeam Katusha225,321
14Marcel KittelGermanyEtixx - Quick-Step195,500
15Philippe GilbertBelgiumBMC175,303
16Andrey AmadorCosta RicaMovistar140,343
17Taylor PhinneyUSABMC134,209
18Tony MartinGermanyEtixx - Quick-Step133,496
19Andre GreipelGermanyLotto-Soudal133,349
20Mark RenshawAustraliaTeam Dimension Data128,631
21Bauke MollemaNetherlandsTrek-Segafredo119,448
22Simon GerransAustraliaOrica-Bike Exchange116,715
23Michael RogersAustraliaTinkoff113,581
24Nicolas RocheIrelandTeam Sky110,166
25Ryder HesjedalCanadaTrek-Segafredo109,532
26Laurens Ten DamNetherlandsGiant-Alpecin108,380
27Robert GesinkNetherlandsLottoNL Jumbo108,191
28Esteban ChavezColombiaOrica-Bike Exchange106,403
29Richie PorteAustraliaBMC105,741
30Tom DumoulinNetherlandsGiant-Alpecin97,496
31Ben SwiftUKTeam Sky96,272
32Lars BoomNetherlandsAstana93,736
33Daniel MartinIrelandEtixx - Quick-Step93,656
34Winner AnconaColombiaMovistar91,342
35Niki TerpstraNetherlandsEtixx - Quick-Step91,277
36Zdenek StybarCzech RepublicEtixx - Quick-Step84,501
37Michal KwiatkowskiPolandTeam Sky82,556
38Matthew GossAustraliaOne-Pro Cycling81,765
39Greg Van AvermaertBelgiumBMC73,468
40Jarlinso PantanoColombiaIAM Cycling72,529
41Peter KennaughUKTeam Sky70,275
42Alex DowsettUKMovistar70,176
43Adam HansenAustraliaLotto-Soudal70,007
44Roman KreuzigerCzech RepublicTinkoff66,735
45Thibaut PinotFranceFDJ65,757
46Bernard EiselAustriaTeam Dimension Data64,820
47Yukiya ArashiroJapanLampre-Merdia64,465
48Femlyuki BeppuJapanTrek-Segafredo63,546
49Rui CostaPortugalLampre-Merdia63,462
50Syvain ChavanelFranceDirect Energie60,354

Stats supplied by TB Pro Cycling. The information was true and correct at October 21 2016 (after the UCI Road Cycling World Championships - the end of the 2015/2016 professional road cycling season)

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.