The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar . Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most revered races are often described as the cycling monuments .
38-469: The Giro del Lazio is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Lazio , Italy. From 2005 to 2008, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour . In past years it was also held as Giro delle Quattro Provincie , Gran premio di Roma and Gran Premio Littoria . The Giro del Lazio returned to the race calendar in 2013 and 2014 following a hiatus since 2008 as
76-661: A España . Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours , and all three races are similar in format, being three-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days, and these differ from major stage races more than one week in duration. All three races have
114-459: A personal nature. One of the few objective criteria is the official categorization of races as classified by the UCI, although this is not a defining feature either, as many fans dispute the presence of some of the highest-categorized races and some older races are not included in the UCI World Tour . Because of the growing ambiguity and inflation of the term "classic", the much younger term "monument"
152-480: A place in all three events, and obliged to participate, and the organisers are free to invite wildcard teams of UCI ProContinental status to make up the 22 teams that usually compete. In 2023, Team Jumbo–Visma riders Primož Roglič , Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss won the Giro , Tour and Vuelta respectively, making the team the first to win all three Grand Tours in a single calendar year. The main competition
190-473: A single year in any classification (general, points, mountain, young rider). Few riders have even finished all three in a single year ; of those who have, two finished in the top ten in each: Raphaël Géminiani (4th, 6th and 3rd in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in 1955) and Gastone Nencini (1st, 6th and 9th in 1957). Eleven riders have achieved a double by winning two grand tours in the same calendar year. Of
228-511: A special status in the rules and regulations of cycling (such as more points in the UCI Women's World Tour, or allowing an increased number of stages), and some have argued that the races need to visit high mountains (such as the Alps ) or contain time trial stages to be considered an equivalent event. Campaign groups such as Le Tour Entier and The Cyclists' Alliance continue to push organisers and
266-668: A substantial history, with the Tour de France first held in 1903, Giro d'Italia first held in 1909 and the Vuelta a España first held in 1935. The Giro is generally run in May, the Tour in July, and the Vuelta in late August and September. The Vuelta was originally held in the spring, usually late April, with a few editions held in June in the 1940s. In 1995, however, the race moved to September to avoid direct competition with
304-414: A week in length. The Vuelta Femenina takes place in May, the Giro d'Italia Women is generally run in late June / early July and the Tour de France Femmes is held in late July following the men's Tour de France. Some media and teams have referred to these women's events as Grand Tours, as they are the biggest events in the women's calendar. However, they are not three week stage races, they do not have
342-401: A week in length. The Vuelta Femenina was first held under that name in 2023, the Giro d'Italia Women was first held in 1988, and various women's Tour de France events have taken place since 1984 – with the Tour de France Femmes having its first edition in 2022. In their current form, the Grand Tours are held over three consecutive weeks and typically include two rest days near the beginning of
380-416: Is the individual general classification , decided on aggregate time (sometimes after allowance of time bonuses). There are also classifications for teams and young riders , and based on climbing and sprinting points , and other minor competitions. Five riders have won three individual classifications open to all riders (general, mountains, young and points classifications) in the same race: Eddy Merckx in
418-413: The 1968 Giro d'Italia and 1969 Tour de France and 1973 Vuelta a España , Tony Rominger in the 1993 Vuelta a España , Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a España , Marco Pantani in the 1998 Giro d'Italia , and Tadej Pogačar in the 2020 Tour de France and 2021 Tour de France . It is rare for cyclists to ride all grand tours in the same year; in 2004, 474 cyclists started in at least one of
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#1732876459383456-544: The 2023 Vuelta a España . Riders from the same country winning all three Grand Tours in a single year has happened only on four occasions. It first occurred in 1964 with French riders Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor , with the second occurrence in 2008 with Spanish riders Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre . 2018 marked the only time three different riders from the same country won all three Tours, these being British riders Chris Froome , Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates . In 2024 Slovenian riders Tadej Pogačar (winning
494-769: The Omloop , but receive a lot of attention because of their position early in the season, typically in February. Together, Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo, the Cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics make up the "Spring Classics", all held in March and April. After Liege, the one-day races begin to give way to the stage races leading to the Grand Tours between May and September. Although there are no 'monuments' in this period, some important summer classics are held from July to September. Following
532-682: The Roma Maxima . The race hasn't been held since 2015. Classic cycle races For the 2005 to 2007 seasons, some classics formed part of the UCI ProTour run by the Union Cycliste Internationale . This event series also included various stage races including the Tour de France , Giro d'Italia , Vuelta a España , Paris–Nice , and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré . The UCI ProTour replaced
570-587: The UCI Road World Cup series (1989–2004) which contained only one-day races. Many of the classics, and all the Grand Tours , were not part of the UCI ProTour for the 2008 season because of disputes between the UCI and the ASO , which organizes the Tour de France and several other major races. Since 2009, many classic cycle races are part of the UCI World Tour . Although cycling fans and sports media eagerly use
608-604: The Unibet team , a ProTour team normally guaranteed entry, was banned from the three Grand Tours for violating gambling advertising laws. In 2008, following numerous doping scandals, some teams were refused entry to the Grand Tours: Astana did not compete at the 2008 Tour de France and Team Columbia did not compete at the 2008 Vuelta a España . Since 2011, under the UCI World Tour rules, all UCI WorldTeams are guaranteed
646-565: The women's road cycling circuit . Historically, women have participated in three week long stages races, with various women's Tour de France events taking place since 1984. In the contemporary UCI Women's World Tour , the Giro d'Italia Women (first held in 1988), the Tour de France Femmes (first held in 2022) and the Vuelta Femenina (started in 2015, gaining its current name in 2023) are sometimes considered to be equivalent races for women – taking place over shorter, smaller routes around
684-535: The Giro and the Tour) and Primož Roglič (winning the Vuelta) repeated the accomplishments of the aforementioned French, Spanish and British riders. On four occasions, each of the three Grand Tours in the same year was won by a home rider, that is, an Italian winning the Giro, a Frenchman winning the Tour and a Spaniard winning the Vuelta. The last occasion this occurred was 1975. As of 2024 , no three week races currently exist on
722-728: The Giro. The Tour de France is the oldest and most prestigious in terms of points accrued to racers of all three, and is the most widely attended annual sporting event in the world. The Tour, the Giro and the Road World Cycling Championship make up the Triple Crown of Cycling . The three Grand Tours are men's events, and as of 2023, no three week races currently exist on the women's road cycling circuit . The Vuelta Femenina , Giro d'Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes are sometimes considered to be equivalent races for women – taking place over shorter, smaller routes around
760-430: The Grand Tours are generally under 200 kilometres in length. Grand Tour events have specific rules and criteria as part of Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regulations. For the UCI World Tour , more points are given in grand tours than in other races; the winner of the Tour de France receives 1000 points, and the winners of the Giro and Vuelta receive 850 points. Depending on the nature of other races, points vary for
798-601: The Grand Tours in the same season: Miguel Poblet in 1956, Pierino Baffi in 1958 and Alessandro Petacchi in 2003. The rider with the most Grand Tour stage wins in one season is Freddy Maertens who won 20 stages in 1977: 13 in the Vuelta a España and 7 in the Giro d'Italia . Only 36 riders have finished all three Grand Tours in one season. Adam Hansen has done this six times consecutively, Marino Lejarreta four times and Bernardo Ruiz achieved it in three different years, while Eduardo Chozas and Carlos Sastre have completed
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#1732876459383836-520: The Tour de France was ridden to its conclusion. Over the years, 36 riders have completed all three Grand Tours in one year: Adam Hansen did so six years in a row. The only riders to have finished in the top 10 in each of the three tours during the same year are Raphaël Géminiani in 1955 and Gastone Nencini in 1957. In 2023 Sepp Kuss became the first rider since Nencini to start and finish all three tours in one year, while winning one of them - in Kuss' case
874-444: The UCI for his use of performance-enhancing drugs . The organizers of the Tour de France announced that the winner's slot would remain empty in the record books, rather than transfer the win to the second-place finishers each year. Seven cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career: Hinault and Contador are the only cyclists to have won each Grand Tour at least twice. No rider has won all three Grand Tours in
912-416: The UCI to allow for longer stage races for women, as well as to improve the quality and economic stability of the women's peloton to allow for three week long races in future. A. Lance Armstrong was declared the winner of seven consecutive Tours from 1999 to 2005. However, on 22 October 2012, he was stripped of all his titles by
950-405: The above eleven, Pantani, Roche and Battaglin's doubles were their only Grand Tour victories in their careers. The margins between the winner of a Grand Tour and the runner-up are often narrow, and rarely larger than a few minutes. As of 2021, there have been 54 Grand Tours with a winning margin less than one minute. The smallest margins are as follows: The biggest winning margin in a Grand Tour
988-400: The accomplishment twice. The rider with most participations on Grand Tours is Matteo Tosatto with 34 (12 Tours, 13 Giros and 9 Vueltas). The rider who has finished most Grand Tours is also Matteo Tosatto, with 28 (12 Tours, 11 Giros and 5 Vueltas). Adam Hansen has finished the most consecutive Grand Tours: 20 tours from 2011 Vuelta a España till 2018 Giro d'Italia . Bernardo Ruiz was
1026-472: The end of the Vuelta a Espana in early September, the nature of the racing once more tends towards the one-day races. The autumn classics are held from September to November. Some Classics have disappeared, often because of financial problems. These include: The Monuments are generally considered to be the oldest, hardest and most prestigious one-day events in cycling. They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently
1064-445: The first rider to ride every tour of a season on three occasions which he completed in 1957. Marino Lejarreta completed every grand tour of the season for the 4th time in 1991 and of these 12 tours he finished in the top 10 of eight of them. His record of 4 was not passed until Adam Hansen completed the Vuelta in 2016. Gastone Nencini (1957) and Sepp Kuss (2023) are the only cyclists to both ride all three Grand Tours and win one in
1102-421: The grand tours, 68 of them rode two Grand Tours and only two cyclists started in all three grand tours. It is not unusual for sprinters to start each of the Grand Tours and aim for stage wins before the most difficult stages occur. Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Cavendish started all three Grand Tours in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as did some of their preferred support riders. For both riders in both years, only
1140-604: The one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour . Since the early 2000s, many classic events have started women's races, now part of the UCI Women's World Tour . These events are often held on the same day or on the same weekend of the men's races. Three of the five cycling 'monuments' have equivalent races: Tour of Flanders for Women (first held in 2004), Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes (first held in 2017) and Paris–Roubaix Femmes (first held in 2021). A women's version of Milan–San Remo, named Primavera Rosa ,
1178-610: The same season. The best average finish was the first time three Grand Tours were finished in one season, when Raphaël Géminiani finished 4th, 6th and 3rd in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta, respectively. [REDACTED] General classification ( maglia rosa ) [REDACTED] Points classification ( maglia ciclamino ) [REDACTED] Mountains classification ( maglia azzurra ) [REDACTED] Young rider classification ( maglia bianca ) Team classification ( classifica
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1216-428: The second and third weeks. If the opening stages are in a country not neighbouring the home nation of the race, there is sometimes an additional rest day after the opening weekend to allow for transfers. The stages are a mix of long massed start races (sometimes including mountain and hill climbs and descents; others are flat stages favoring those with a sprint finish) and individual and team time trials . Stages in
1254-603: The term "classic", there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a classic cycling race. UCI , the international governing body of cycling, has no mention at all of the term in its rulings. This poses problems to define the characteristics of these races and makes it impossible to make precise lists. Several criteria are used to denote the importance of a cycling race: date of creation, historical importance and tradition, commercial importance, location, level of difficulty, level of competition field, etc. However, many of these paradigms tend to shift over time and are often opinions of
1292-611: The winner of the overall classification The grand tours have a special status for the length: they are allowed to last between 15 and 23 days – whereas other stage races are not allowed to last longer than 14 days. Historically, controversy surrounds which teams are invited to the event by the organiser. Typically, the UCI prefers top-rated professional teams to enter, while operators of the Grand Tours often want teams based in their country or those unlikely to cause controversy. Between 2005 and 2007, organisers had to accept all ProTour teams, leaving only two wildcard teams per Tour. However,
1330-972: Was 2h 59' 21" in Maurice Garin 's win at the first Tour de France in 1903 . The biggest margin in the history of Giro d'Italia was in 1914 when Alfonso Calzolari won by 1h 57' 26", and the biggest margin in the history of Vuelta a España was in 1945 when Delio Rodríguez finished 30' 08" clear. The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by five riders – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov , Mark Cavendish , Laurent Jalabert , Eddy Merckx and Alessandro Petacchi . The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by two riders – Federico Bahamontes and Luis Herrera . The Tour/Giro double has been achieved by three riders – Egan Bernal , Nairo Quintana and Andy Schleck . The Giro/Vuelta double has been achieved by one rider – Miguel Ángel López . The Tour/Vuelta double has been achieved by two riders – Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel . Three cyclists have won stages in all three of
1368-485: Was always on the Saturday before Liege–Bastogne–Liege (it was known as The Ardennes Weekend), before being shortened and moved to the preceding Wednesday. The remaining five then became known as the 'Monuments'. Rik van Looy is the only rider to win all eight. Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck both won seven, both missing out at Paris–Tours. Season openers are usually not regarded as highly as other classics apart from
1406-415: Was initiated in 1999, but cancelled after 2005. Other major races include La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (first held in 1998), Women's Amstel Gold Race (first held in 2001) and Strade Bianche Donne (first held in 2015). Grand Tour (cycling) In road bicycle racing , a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia , Tour de France , and Vuelta
1444-537: Was introduced in the 21st century to denote the five most revered of the classic cycling races. Until the 1980s there were originally eight recognised classics, the five Monuments (see Cycling Monuments below) plus La Flèche Wallonne , Paris–Brussels and Paris–Tours . Due to various traffic and organizational problems these events came and went in various guises (for example, Paris–Tours became Blois–Chaville, before returning in its current form). Paris–Brussels disappeared altogether between 1967 and 1976. Flèche Wallonne
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