Not Only Tour de France! Overview of the Biggest Cycling Events
Cycling track racing is a cycling event in which cyclists compete to cover the distance at speed on bicycle tracks or velodromes. The cycling track occupies a large part of cycling and contains numerous Olympic disciplines.
Racing at the international level is regulated by the International Cycling Union (UCI – Union Cycliste Internationale), the European Cycling Union (UEC – L’Union Européenne de Cyclisme).What cycling events are out there?
History of Cycling
“Running machine” was the name of the very first bicycle invented in 1817 by the German professor Carl von Dres. But the world’s first bicycle race remained in the pages of history only half a century later: On May 31, 1868, in the park of Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris, the participants competed on a distance of 650 feet.
Two years later, in France, began the first long road Paris–Rouen race of 75 miles, which is considered the ancestor of the brevets (non-competitive bicycle marathons). At that time, riders rode heavy wooden bicycles and the average speed of the winner was 7 mph (ca. 11 km/h).
Cycling has been in the Olympic program since the beginning of 1896. And the world championship on the highway was held much later – only in 1921 in Copenhagen. It should be noted that until 1996 cycling was a man’s sport at the Olympics, but women appeared in the world championships earlier, since 1958.
Top-10 Biggest Cycling Events
Tour de France
The Tour does not need any advertising. This is the most popular cycling race in the world. Winning the Tour is considered the highest achievement in cycling.
The competition lasts for three weeks and ends in Paris, on the Champs-Élysées. They consist of 21 stages, each lasting one day.
For a rider’s time to be counted and accumulated, he or she must complete a stage. The length of the Tour de France ranges from 1200 to 2100 miles, the length of the course changes every year. In 1926, it was the longest route – almost 3500 miles. The winner of the race receives a yellow jersey.
The founding date of this famous cycling race is 1909. The Giro d’Italia is a multi-day bicycle race, one of the three largest along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta d’España. It is held annually in Italy for three weeks, usually in May and June. It has been held regularly since 1909, with brief interruptions during World Wars I and II.
Like other popular super-multiday races, the Giro d’Italia is a spectacular and extraordinary event for cycling fans all over the world.
Tour of Spain
The three-week Vuelta d’España or Tour of Spain has been around since 1935. Along with the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, it is one of the three most prestigious cycling races in the world. Since 2010, the leader of the Tour of Spain has been awarded a red jersey, and before that its color was changed several times by the organizers who revived the event after a long break.
Vuelta de Catalunya
There is also a local Catalan race in Spain. The date of the first race was 1911. The Vuelta de Catalunya is a professional road multi-day bicycle race held in March on the roads of the Spanish autonomy of the same name, Catalonia. The leader of the multi-day race wears a white jersey with green stripes.
Tour of Flanders
A one-day “classic” road cycling event in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It was first held in 1913 and was won by the Belgian cyclist Paul Demand. The Tour of Flanders is part of the five so-called Monuments of Cycling, the most famous, prestigious, and revered classic race in the cycling calendar. The Tour starts in Bruges and finishes in Ninova. The race is 160 miles long. Due to its long history and challenging routes, it has become very popular among cycling professionals. Athletes have to give their best and squeeze everything out of themselves. And yes: a large part of the route is on paving stones.
World Extreme Games
The annual Summer Extreme Games are held in Los Angeles, America. During the performances in this USA cycling event, athletes show various tricks: in the park, at speed and at altitude, stunt in the pipe, and in conditions close to urban (rails, stairs, etc.).
The longest one-day bicycle race in the world (190 miles).Its participants start from Milan and finish in San Remo. It was first held in 1907. La Primavera is one of the five most prestigious and respected classic cycling races. For us, this cycling event is one of the best, thanks to the sights of Italy.
This is a classic one-day road cycling race held annually in mid-April in northern France. It is one of the five Monuments of the European professional cycling calendar. Paris-Roubaix is the most traumatic cycling race, where statisticians are tired of counting the number of injuries to athletes in the history of the event.
Tour of Switzerland
Our cycling rankings continue with competitions that test the Swiss alpine landscape every year. This is how athletes prepare for the Tour de France. The Tour of Switzerland was first held in 1933.
The Paris Tour is an annual road one-day classic bicycle race held in France since 1896. Because of the flat terrain of the route, it is called the Sprinter Classic.
That was the Top-10 biking event of the world. But there are more of them, for example, Peloton virtual cycling events, about which we have written the article. Make sure you have read it! Thanks for staying with us.
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