Classic cycle races
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings, see Classics (disambiguation).
The Classic cycle races are the most prestigious 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'.
From 2005, the Classics have formed part of the UCI ProTour run by the Union Cycliste Internationale. This event series also includes various stage races including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, Paris-Nice and the Critérium de Dauphiné Libéré, and various non-Classic single day events. The ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series which contained only one-day races.
[edit] The Classics
Professional races commonly regarded as Classics:
- Milan-Sanremo (
Italy) – the first true Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), this race is normally held in late March. First run in 1907. - Ronde van Vlaanderen (
Belgium) – the first of the 'Spring Classics', is normally 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 Ronde van Vlaanderen, and was first raced in 1896 - Amstel Gold Race (
Netherlands) – normally held mid-April. First run in 1966 - La Flèche Wallonne ( Belgium) – The Walloon Arrow is traditionally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. First run in 1936.
- 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.
- Rund um den Henninger Turm (
Germany) - Clásica de San Sebastián (San Sebastian Classic)(
Spain) - Züri-Metzgete (Championship of Zürich) (
Switzerland) - Paris-Brussels ( France/ Belgium)
- Paris-Tours ( France)
- Giro di Lombardia ( Italy) – also known as the "Race of the Falling Leaves", is normally held in October. Initially called the Milano-Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907.
Some past Classics are no longer run. These include the gruelling 560km, partly motor-paced event, Bordeaux-Paris, run from 1891 to 1988.
[edit] The 'Monuments'
- Milan-Sanremo ( Italy) – the first true Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), this race is normally held in late March. First run in 1907.
- Ronde van Vlaanderen ( Belgium) – also known as the "Tour of Flanders", the first of the 'Spring Classics', is normally 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 Ronde van Vlaanderen, 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", is normally held in October. Initially called the Milano-Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907.
Only three riders, all Belgians, have won all five 'Monument' one-day races during their careers: Roger De Vlaeminck, Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. With victories in all the other Monuments, Seán Kelly almost joined this group, finishing second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen on three occasions (1984,1986,1987).
[edit] See also
List of important cycling events
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