This could be the breakthrough Melbourne's cyclists have been waiting for.

The days of the so-called Boulie Tacker puncturing cyclists' tyres might be numbered, after police released an image of a man they believe has been dropping thousands of tacks on the Yarra Boulevard in Kew for more than two years.

The small 1cm-long upholstery tacks have been responsible for hundreds of punctures on the popular cycling road, with the culprit sometimes going so far as to brazenly drop them before protests against the attacks.