The Tour de France (leTour), the Tour of Italy (Giro d'Italia) and the Tour of Spain (La Vuelta d'Espania). LeTour is considered the most prestigious of the three but each year any one of the three could be the most difficult as each race is unique in its route and difficulty.
The Grand Tours in cycling are the three major professional cycling stage races: the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Together they are known as the 'Grand Tours'.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway.
Winning all three grand tours in a career
| Cyclist | Tour de France wins | Vuelta a España wins |
|---|
| Bernard Hinault ( FRA ) | 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985 | 1978, 1983 |
| Alberto Contador ( ESP ) | 2007, 2009 | 2008, 2012, 2014 |
| Vincenzo Nibali ( ITA ) | 2014 | 2010 |
| Chris Froome ( GBR ) | 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 | 2011, 2017 |
Only three men have won all five races — Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Giro di Lombardia — and all three were Belgian.
The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race of June 1895 has sometimes been described as the "first motor race", despite the 1894 event being decided by speed and finishing order of the eligible racers.
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 a España. Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format being three week races with daily stages.
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.
They are so named because they began prior to World War I; the youngest of the events, the Tour of Flanders, was first run in 1913. The roads they travel were used during the World Wars and now the courses are lined with memorials to the war dead.
Cycling Spring Classics 2021: Race dates, Monuments, cobbles and live TV guide
- The Classics are cycling's biggest one day races, and for the most part take place in Northern Europe in the spring.
- Milan-San Remo is the first Monument of the year and is most noted for its length as the parcours covers almost 300km.
Many wonder why just these five classics are called monuments, whereas other notable races, including Ghent–Wevelgem, the Amstel Gold Race and Strade Bianche, are not.
Saturday 6th March 2021, the day that Strade Bianche officially declared itself as a cycling Monument.
All races are stressful, especially for riders who make a living off the sport. But the Tour is often considered the most mentally and emotionally exhausting event in cycling because of the increased media coverage and the crowds, as well as the intensity of the race.
Ultra-Endurance cycling events are typically defined as a race that is over 100-miles. These events can take place on a variety of surfaces and with any sort of bike, but their duration brings into focus the importance of your nutrition, hydration and pacing strategies.
La Ruta de los Conquistadores - Costa RicaDubbed one of the most feared and respected of all races, La Ruta is a mountain bike race that supplies the World's very best endurance athletes with a course that traverses the American land mass from Pacific to Atlantic.
