Classic cycle races Information & Classic cycle races Links at HealthHaven.com

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'.^{[citation needed]}

For the 2005-2007 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 single 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, are 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.

[edit] The Classics

Professional races commonly regarded as Classics:

La Primavera

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.

Cobbled classics

Ronde van Vlaanderen ( Belgium) – the first of the 'Spring Classics', is normally raced in early April. First held in 1913. Known in English as the 'Tour of Flanders'.
Ghent-Wevelgem ( Belgium) - First held in 1934.
Paris-Roubaix ( France) – La Reine ("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.

Ardennes classics

Amstel Gold Race ( 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, the Cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics form the Spring Classics, all held in April.

Other classics

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.

Season openers

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.

[edit] The 'Monuments'

Milan-Sanremo ( 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.
Ronde van Vlaanderen ( 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 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 held in October. Initially called the Milano-Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907.

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, Seán Kelly almost joined this group, finishing second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen on three occasions (1984,1986,1987). Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won each Monument, except Liège-Bastogne-Liège in which he finished second in 1980.

Cyclists who won more than three 'Monuments'
Riders	M-S	RvV	P-R	L-B-L	GdL	Total
Eddy Merckx ( Belgium)	7	2	3	5	2	19
Roger De Vlaeminck ( Belgium)	3	1	4	1	2	11
Costante Girardengo ( Italy)	6				3	9
Fausto Coppi ( Italy)	3		1		5	9
Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	2		2	2	3	9
Rik Van Looy ( Belgium)	1	2	3	1	1	8
Gino Bartali ( Italy)	4				3	7
Henri Pélissier ( France)	1		2		3	6
Alfredo Binda ( Italy)	2				4	6
Fred De Bruyne ( Belgium)	1	1	1	3		6
Francesco Moser ( Italy)	1		3		2	6
Moreno Argentin ( Italy)		1		4	1	6
Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)		3	3			6
Gaetano Belloni ( Italy)	2				3	5
Rik Van Steenbergen ( Belgium)	1	2	2			5
Bernard Hinault ( France)			1	2	2	5
Michele Bartoli ( Italy)		1		2	2	5
Paolo Bettini ( Italy)	1			2	2	5
Tom Boonen ( Belgium)		2	3			5
Louison Bobet ( France)	1	1	1		1	4
Germain Derycke ( Belgium)	1	1	1	1		4
Felice Gimondi ( Italy)	1		1		2	4
Walter Godefroot ( Belgium)		2	1	1		4
Hennie Kuiper ( Netherlands)	1	1	1		1	4
Jan Raas ( Netherlands)	1	2	1			4
Erik Zabel ( Germany)	4					4

Monument winners since 1980
Year	Milan-Sanremo	Ronde van Vlaanderen	Paris-Roubaix	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	Giro di Lombardia
1980	Pierino Gavazzi ( Italy)	Michel Pollentier ( Belgium)	Francesco Moser ( Italy)	Bernard Hinault ( France)	Fons De Wolf ( Belgium)
1981	Fons De Wolf ( Belgium)	Hennie Kuiper ( Netherlands)	Bernard Hinault ( France)	Josef Fuchs ( Switzerland)	Hennie Kuiper ( Netherlands)
1982	Marc Gomez ( France)	René Martens ( Belgium)	Jan Raas ( Netherlands)	Silvano Contini ( Italy)	Giuseppe Saronni ( Italy)
1983	Giuseppe Saronni ( Italy)	Jan Raas ( Netherlands)	Hennie Kuiper ( Netherlands)	Steven Rooks ( Netherlands)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)
1984	Francesco Moser ( Italy)	Johan Lammerts ( Netherlands)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Bernard Hinault ( France)
1985	Hennie Kuiper ( Netherlands)	Eric Vanderaerden ( Belgium)	Marc Madiot ( Belgium)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)
1986	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Adri van der Poel ( Netherlands)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)	Gianbattista Baronchelli ( Italy)
1987	Erich Mächler ( Switzerland)	Claude Criquielion ( Belgium)	Eric Vanderaerden ( Belgium)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)
1988	Laurent Fignon ( France)	Eddy Planckaert ( Belgium)	Dirk Demol ( Belgium)	Adri van der Poel ( Netherlands)	Charly Mottet ( France)
1989	Laurent Fignon ( France)	Edwig van Hooydonck ( Belgium)	Jean-Marie Wampers ( Belgium)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Tony Rominger ( Switzerland)
1990	Gianni Bugno ( Italy)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)	Eddy Planckaert ( Belgium)	Eric van Lancker ( Belgium)	Gilles Delion ( France)
1991	Claudio Chiappucci ( Italy)	Edwig van Hooydonck ( Belgium)	Marc Madiot ( France)	Moreno Argentin ( Italy)	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)
1992	Seán Kelly ( Ireland)	Jacky Durand ( France)	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle ( France)	Dirk de Wolf ( Belgium)	Tony Rominger ( Switzerland)
1993	Maurizio Fondriest ( Italy)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle ( France)	Rolf Sørensen ( Denmark)	Pascal Richard ( Switzerland)
1994	Giorgio Furlan ( Italy)	Gianni Bugno ( Italy)	Andrei Tchmil ( Ukraine)	Evgeni Berzin ( Russia)	Viatcheslav Bobrik ( Russia)
1995	Laurent Jalabert ( France)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Franco Ballerini ( Italy)	Mauro Gianetti ( Switzerland)	Gianni Faresin ( Italy)
1996	Gabriele Colombo ( Italy)	Michele Bartoli ( Italy)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Pascal Richard ( Switzerland)	Andrea Tafi ( Italy)
1997	Erik Zabel ( Germany)	Rolf Sørensen ( Denmark)	Frédéric Guesdon ( France)	Michele Bartoli ( Italy)	Laurent Jalabert ( France)
1998	Erik Zabel ( Germany)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Franco Ballerini ( Italy)	Michele Bartoli ( Italy)	Oscar Camenzind ( Switzerland)
1999	Andrei Tchmil ( Belgium)	Peter Van Petegem ( Belgium)	Andrea Tafi ( Italy)	Frank Vandenbroucke ( Belgium)	Mirko Celestino ( Italy)
2000	Erik Zabel ( Germany)	Andrei Tchmil ( Belgium)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Paolo Bettini ( Italy)	Raimondas Rumšas ( Lithuania)
2001	Erik Zabel ( Germany)	Gianluca Bortolami ( Italy)	Servais Knaven ( Netherlands)	Oscar Camenzind ( Switzerland)	Danilo Di Luca ( Italy)
2002	Mario Cipollini ( Italy)	Andrea Tafi ( Italy)	Johan Museeuw ( Belgium)	Paolo Bettini ( Italy)	Michele Bartoli ( Italy)
2003	Paolo Bettini ( Italy)	Peter Van Petegem ( Belgium)	Peter Van Petegem ( Belgium)	Tyler Hamilton ( United States)	Michele Bartoli ( Italy)
2004	Óscar Freire ( Spain)	Steffen Wesemann ( Switzerland)	Magnus Bäckstedt ( Sweden)	Davide Rebellin ( Italy)	Damiano Cunego ( Italy)
2005	Alessandro Petacchi ( Italy)	Tom Boonen ( Belgium)	Tom Boonen ( Belgium)	Alexander Vinokourov ( Kazakhstan)	Paolo Bettini ( Italy)
2006	Filippo Pozzato ( Italy)	Tom Boonen ( Belgium)	Fabian Cancellara ( Switzerland)	Alejandro Valverde ( Spain)	Paolo Bettini ( Italy)
2007	Óscar Freire ( Spain)	Alessandro Ballan ( Italy)	Stuart O'Grady ( Australia)	Danilo Di Luca ( Italy)	Damiano Cunego ( Italy)
2008	Fabian Cancellara ( Switzerland)	Stijn Devolder ( Belgium)	Tom Boonen ( Belgium)	Alejandro Valverde ( Spain)	Damiano Cunego ( Italy)
2009	Mark Cavendish ( United Kingdom)	Stijn Devolder ( Belgium)	Tom Boonen ( Belgium)	Andy Schleck ( Luxembourg)	Philippe Gilbert ( Belgium)

[edit] See also

List of road bicycle racing events