Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. In the last few years, the five most revered races are sometimes described as the 'Monuments'.
For the 2005 to 2007 seasons, the 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, and various non-Classic one-day events. The ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series which contained only one-day races. Many of the Classics, and all the Grand Tours, were not part of the 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.
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The Classics[edit]
Professional races commonly regarded by the UCI as Classics:[citation needed]
Spring[edit]
- Milan – San Remo (Italy) – the first true Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), this race is normally held on the Sunday closest to the first day of spring. First run in 1907.
- Gent–Wevelgem (Belgium) - the first of the 'Spring Classics', First held in 1934.
- E3 Harelbeke (Belgium) - First held in 1958
- Tour of Flanders (Belgium) – Vlaanderens mooiste ("Flanders's most beautiful") is normally raced in early April. First held in 1913. Known in English as the 'Tour of Flanders' and in Flemish/Dutch as "de Ronde van Vlaanderen".
- Paris–Roubaix (France) – La Reine ("Queen of the Classics") or l'Enfer du Nord ("Hell of the North") is traditionally one week after the Tour of Flanders, and was first raced in 1896.
- Amstel Gold Race (the Netherlands) – normally held mid-April. First run in 1966, it is one of the three "Ardennes Classics."
- La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium) – First run in 1936, Walloon Arrow is traditionally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Second "Ardennes Classic."
- Liège–Bastogne–Liège (Belgium) – late April. La Doyenne, the oldest Classic, was first held in 1892. It is the third "Ardennes Classic."
Together, Milan-San Remo, the Cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics form the Spring Classics, all held in March and April.
Fall/autumn classics[edit]
- Clásica de San Sebastián (Spain)
- Paris–Tours (France)
- Giro di Lombardia (Italy) – also known as the "Race of the Falling Leaves", was held in October. Initially called the Milano–Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907 and Il Lombardia in 2012 along with a new, earlier date at the end of September.
- Milano–Torino (Italy) – First run in 1876, the race has not been run from 2008 to 2011 but has returned to the UCI calendar in 2012.
Season openers[edit]
- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium) - opening Belgian cycling season
- GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise (France) - opening French cycling season
- Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi (Italy) - opening Italian cycling season
- Trofeo Cala Millor-Cala Bona (Spain) - opening Spanish cycling season
Some past Classics are no longer run. These include the gruelling 560 km, partly motor-paced event, Bordeaux–Paris, run from 1891 to 1988. Other former races include the Züri-Metzgete.
The 'Monuments'[edit]
The Five Monuments of Cycling are generally considered to be the oldest and most-prestigious one-day races on the calendar.[1][2][3]
- Milan – San Remo (Italy) – the first true Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), this race is held in late March. First run in 1907.
- Tour of Flanders (Belgium) – also known as the Tour of Flanders, the first of the 'Spring Classics', is raced in early April. First held in 1913.
- Paris–Roubaix (France) – the "Queen of the Classics" or l'Enfer du Nord ("Hell of the North") is traditionally one week after the Tour of Flanders, and was first raced in 1896.
- Liège–Bastogne–Liège (Belgium) – late April. La Doyenne, the oldest Classic, was first held in 1892 as an amateur event; a professional edition following in 1894.
- Giro di Lombardia (Italy) – also known as the "Race of the Falling Leaves", was held in October. Initially called the Milano–Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907 and Il Lombardia in 2012 along with a new, earlier date at the end of September.
Only three riders have won all five 'Monument' one-day races during their careers: Roger De Vlaeminck, Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx, all three Belgians. With victories in all the other Monuments, Sean Kelly almost joined this group, finishing second in the Tour of Flanders on three occasions (1984, 1986 and 1987). Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each Monument, except Liège–Bastogne–Liège in which he finished second in 1980. Belgian rider Fred De Bruyne also came close, finishing second in the Giro di Lombardia in 1955 and winning the other four races during his career.
| Cyclist | Nationality | First win |
Latest win |
M–S | ToF | P–R | L–B–L | GdL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy Merckx |  Belgium |
1966 | 1976 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| Roger De Vlaeminck | Belgium |
1970 | 1979 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Costante Girardengo |  Italy |
1918 | 1928 | 6 | 3 | 9 | |||
| Fausto Coppi | Italy |
1946 | 1954 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | ||
| Sean Kelly |  Ireland |
1983 | 1992 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |
| Rik Van Looy | Belgium |
1958 | 1965 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Gino Bartali | Italy |
1939 | 1950 | 4 | 3 | 7 | |||
| Tom Boonen | Belgium |
2005 | 2012 | 3 | 4 | 7 | |||
| Henri Pélissier |  France |
1911 | 1921 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Alfredo Binda | Italy |
1925 | 1931 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||
| Fred De Bruyne | Belgium |
1956 | 1959 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| Francesco Moser | Italy |
1975 | 1984 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Moreno Argentin | Italy |
1985 | 1991 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Johan Museeuw | Belgium |
1993 | 2002 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |||
| Fabian Cancellara |  Switzerland |
2006 | 2013 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Gaetano Belloni | Italy |
1915 | 1928 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| Rik Van Steenbergen | Belgium |
1944 | 1954 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Bernard Hinault | France |
1977 | 1984 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Michele Bartoli | Italy |
1996 | 2003 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Paolo Bettini | Italy |
2000 | 2006 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Gaston Rebry | Belgium |
1931 | 1935 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Alphonse Schepers | Belgium |
1931 | 1935 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Louison Bobet | France |
1951 | 1956 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Germain Derycke | Belgium |
1953 | 1958 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Felice Gimondi | Italy |
1966 | 1974 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Walter Godefroot | Belgium |
1967 | 1978 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Hennie Kuiper |  Netherlands |
1981 | 1985 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Jan Raas | Netherlands |
1977 | 1983 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Erik Zabel |  Germany |
1997 | 2001 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| Octave Lapize | France |
1909 | 1911 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Giovanni Brunero | Italy |
1922 | 1924 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Romain Gijssels | Belgium |
1931 | 1932 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Achiel Buysse | Belgium |
1940 | 1943 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Fiorenzo Magni | Italy |
1949 | 1951 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Jo de Roo | Netherlands |
1962 | 1965 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Emile Daems | Belgium |
1960 | 1963 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Tom Simpson |  United Kingdom |
1961 | 1965 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Eric Leman | Belgium |
1970 | 1973 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Peter Van Petegem | Belgium |
1999 | 2003 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Andrea Tafi | Italy |
1996 | 2002 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Andrei Tchmil | Belgium |
1994 | 2000 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Óscar Freire |  Spain |
2004 | 2010 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Damiano Cunego | Italy |
2004 | 2008 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Philippe Gilbert | Belgium |
2009 | 2011 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Only Eddy Merckx has been able to win three Monuments in a single year, but he did it four times:
- 1969: Milan – San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
- 1971: Milan – San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Giro di Lombardia.
- 1972: Milan – San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Giro di Lombardia; in addition to the World Championship.
- 1975: Milan – San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Cycling Hall of Fame: Introduction, 2010, retrieved 2010-07-12
- ^ Cycling Monuments, 2010, retrieved 2010-07-12
- ^ "Cancellara dreams of all winning all five of cycling monuments", CyclingNews.com, 2010, retrieved 2010-07-12
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