List of Grand Tour general classification winners
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Eddy_Merckx_Molteni_1973.jpg/200px-Eddy_Merckx_Molteni_1973.jpg)
The Grand Tours are the three most prestigious multi-week stage races in professional road bicycle racing.[1] The competitions are the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, contested annually in that order. They are the only stage races permitted to last longer than 14 days.[2] No cyclist has won all three Grand Tours in the same calendar year, but Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Chris Froome have won all three in succession (thus holding all titles at the same time). The only other cyclists to win all three Grand Tours at some point in their career are Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, and Vincenzo Nibali.[3] Contador is the youngest, at 25 years, to win every Tour.[4] It is rare for cyclists to ride all Grand Tours in the same year; in 2004, for example, 474 cyclists started in one of the Grand Tours, 68 rode two and only two cyclists started all three.[5]
Cyclists are ranked on the basis of their total wins in the three Grand Tours. When there is a tie between cyclists they are listed alphabetically by the Grand Tour they won. The majority of winners have come from Europe, however, there have been a few notable victories for cyclists from other continents. Andrew Hampsten, became the first North American to win the Giro, when he won in 1988.[6] Luis Herrera became the first person from South America and the Southern Hemisphere to win a Grand Tour when he won the 1987 Vuelta a España.[7]
Eddy Merckx, with 11 victories, has won the most Grand Tours. Bernard Hinault is second with 10 and Jacques Anquetil is third with eight.[3] Merckx, Fausto Coppi and Alfredo Binda have won the most Giros, each winning five during their career. Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil and Miguel Indurain hold the record for the most victories in the Tour, with five each. Roberto Heras holds the record for the most victories in the Vuelta, which he has won four times.[8]
Winners
By cyclist
![A man in a white shirt smiling with arm aloft](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Bernard_Hinault_1978_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Bernard_Hinault_1978_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![A man on a bicycle wearing a helmet with a visor and a yellow top with black shorts. In the background, there is a red motorcycle with two men on it.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Miguel_INDURAIN_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Miguel_INDURAIN_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![A black and white photo of a man in front of a crowd of people](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Fausto_Coppi%2C_Tour_de_France_1952_01_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Fausto_Coppi%2C_Tour_de_France_1952_01_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![A man in a fluorescent yellow shirt](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/2015_Tour_de_France_team_presentation%2C_Alberto_Contador.jpg/170px-2015_Tour_de_France_team_presentation%2C_Alberto_Contador.jpg)
![A man in a white top with a hat on standing in front of two people](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Alfredo_Binda_2.jpg/170px-Alfredo_Binda_2.jpg)
![A man wearing a white top with blue, green and red colouring. He is also wearing a hat](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Toni_ROMINGER.jpg/170px-Toni_ROMINGER.jpg)
![A man in a green top hunched over, he is wearing a hat](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Ivan_Basso_%28Vuelta_a_Espana_2009_-_Stage_1%29.jpg/170px-Ivan_Basso_%28Vuelta_a_Espana_2009_-_Stage_1%29.jpg)
![A man riding a bicycle wearing a helmet with a visor. Behind him there is a crowd of people on the road side](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Stephen_ROCHE.jpg/170px-Stephen_ROCHE.jpg)
![A man in a pink helmet wearing a pink top with black arm-warmers and gloves. He has hands above his head](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Jan_Ullrich.jpg/170px-Jan_Ullrich.jpg)
![A man wearing a black cap in an orange top](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Luis_Herrera.jpg/170px-Luis_Herrera.jpg)
![A man with blond hair wearing a white top](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Winokurow_2006.jpg/170px-Winokurow_2006.jpg)
Riders in bold are still active. Number of wins in gold indicates the current record holder(s).
By country
Country | Giro | Tour | Vuelta | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
69 | 10 | 6 | 85 |
![]() |
6 | 36 | 9 | 51 |
![]() |
4 | 12 | 33 | 49 |
![]() |
7 | 18 | 7 | 32 |
![]() |
2 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
![]() |
3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
![]() |
2 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
![]() |
1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
![]() |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
![]() |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
![]() |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
References
General
- "Albo d'Oro". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Jacques Augendre (2014). Tour de France Guide Historique (PDF). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- "Palmares" (in Spanish). Vuelta a España. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
Specific
- ^ "Million dollar, baby!". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ^ "UCI Cycling Regulations". Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Archived from the original (ASP) on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Historical Results – The Grand Tours". Cycling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ Birnie, Lionel (21 September 2008). "Contador becomes quickest to complete Grand Tour set". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ Riche, Antoine (19 March 2005). "Doubler deux Grands Tours revient à la mode". CyclisMag (in French). Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Greg (15 May 2009). "50 Giro facts you need to know". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ "Vuelta a España O–Z". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- ^ Arribas, Carlos (23 December 2012). "Heras wins back Vuelta victory". El País. Retrieved 26 January 2021.