- Grand Tour (cycling)
-
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:
- Tour de France – Tour of France (est. 1903), held in July
- Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy (est. 1909), held in May
- Vuelta a España – Tour of Spain (est. 1935), currently held in September
Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format being multi-week races with daily stages. They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI WorldTour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races,[1] and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days.[2]
Contents
Description
In their current form, the Grand Tours are held over three consecutive weeks and typically include two "rest" days near the end of the first and second week. The stages are a mix of long massed start races (sometimes including mountain and hill climbs and descents; others are flat stages favoring those with a sprint finish), as well as individual and team time trials and non-competitive exhibition and rest days. Unlike most one-day races, stages in the Grand Tours are generally under 200 kilometers in length.
Controversy often surrounds which teams are invited to the event. Typically, the Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union) prefers top rated professional teams to enter, while operators of the Grand Tours often want teams based in their country or those unlikely to cause controversy. From 2005 to 2007, organisers had to accept all ProTour teams, leaving only two wildcard teams per Tour. However, the Unibet team, a ProTour team normally guaranteed entry, was banned from the three Grand Tours due to gambling advertising laws. In 2008, following numerous doping scandals, some teams were refused entry to the Grand Tours: Astana did not compete at the 2008 Tour de France and Team Columbia did not compete at the 2008 Vuelta a España. Since 2011, under the UCI World Tour rules, all ProTour teams are guaranteed an place in all three events, and obliged to participate.
The Tour de France is the oldest and most prestigious[1] of all three, and also the world's most famous cycling race. The Giro d'Italia is the second most important[3][4][5][6] and has occasionally been as popular as the Tour (late '40s, '50s, and early '70s). While the Tour de France has long been a household sporting name around the globe, known even to those not generally interested in cycling, the other two European Grand Tours are well known in Europe but relatively unknown outside the continent, where they are familiar only to cycling enthusiasts.
The prizes include the individual General Classification, the team classification, the King of the Mountains, the points classification, and often the best young rider classification, in addition to other less known classifications. The most contested ones are the individual general classification (Maillot jaune -yellow jersey- in the Tour de France, Maglia rosa -pink jersey- in the Giro d'Italia, and Jersey rojo -red jersey- in the Vuelta a España, ; king of the mountains classification (Maillot à pois rouges -polka dot jersey- in the Tour, Maglia verde -green jersey- in the Giro, and Jersey de puntos azules -blue polka dots jersey- in the Vuelta); and points classification (Maillot vert -green jersey- in the Tour, Maglia Rosso Passione -red jersey- in the Giro, and Jersey verde -green jersey- in the Vuelta). Only three riders have won all three in the same race: Eddy Merckx in the 1968 Giro d'Italia and 1969 Tour de France, Tony Rominger in the 1993 Vuelta a España and Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a España.[7]
It is rare for cyclists to ride all grand tours in the same year; in 2004, 474 cyclists started in at least one of the grand tours, 68 of them rode two Grand Tours and only two cyclists started in all three grand tours.[8] It is not unusual for sprinters and their leadout men, who do not expect to complete each race, to start each of the Grand Tours and aim for stage wins before the most difficult stages occur. Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Cavendish started all three Grand Tours in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as did some of their preferred support riders. For both riders in both years, only the Tour de France was ridden to its conclusion.
Over the years, 31 riders have completed all three Grand Tours in one year. Marino Lejarreta has done it four times, Bernardo Ruiz and Eduardo Chozas three time each and Carlos Sastre twice, while 27 riders have achieved the feat once.
The only riders to have finished top 10 in each three during one year are Raphaël Geminiani in 1955 and Gastone Nencini in 1957.
UCI rules
For the 2011 UCI World Tour, more points are given in grand tours than in other races; the winner of the Tour de France receives 200 points, and the winners of the Giro and Vuelta receive 170 points, while other races give 100 points at most.[1] The grand tours have a special status for the length: they are allowed to last between 15 and 23 days.[2]
Grand Tour winners
Statistics
Winners of all three Grand Tours
No cyclist has ever won all three Grand Tour events in the same year.
Only five cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:[9]
Jacques Anquetil (FRA): 5 Tours (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964), 2 Giro (1960, 1964), 1 Vuelta (1963).
Alberto Contador (ESP): 3 Tours (2007, 2009, 2010), 2 Giro (2008, 2011), 1 Vuelta (2008)
Felice Gimondi (ITA): 1 Tour (1965), 3 Giro (1967, 1969, 1976), 1 Vuelta (1968)- Bernard Hinault (FRA): 5 Tours (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985), 3 Giro (1980, 1982, 1985), 2 Vueltas (1978, 1983)
Eddy Merckx (BEL): 5 Tours (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), 5 Giro (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), 1 Vuelta (1973)
Only three cyclists have won stages in all three of the Grand Tours in the same year:[10]
- Miguel Poblet (ESP): 1956
- Pierino Baffi (ITA): 1958
- Alessandro Petacchi (ITA): 2003
Winners of two Grand Tours in a year
Nine riders have achieved a double by winning two grand tours in the same year.
Seven cyclists have won the Tour and the Giro in the same year:[9]
- Fausto Coppi (ITA): 1949, 1952
- Jacques Anquetil (FRA): 1964
- Eddy Merckx (BEL): 1970, 1972, 1974
- Bernard Hinault (FRA): 1982, 1985
Stephen Roche (IRL): 1987- Miguel Indurain (ESP): 1992, 1993
- Marco Pantani (ITA): 1998
The Tour/Vuelta double has been achieved by two cyclists:[9]
- Jacques Anquetil (FRA): 1963
- Bernard Hinault (FRA): 1978
The Giro/Vuelta double has been achieved by three cyclists:[9]
- Eddy Merckx (BEL): 1973
- Giovanni Battaglin (ITA): 1981
- Alberto Contador (ESP): 2008
Of the above nine, Pantani, Roche and Battaglin's doubles were their only Grand Tour victories in their careers.
Most Grand Tour wins
Main article: List of Grand Tour general classification winnersMost Grand Tour wins[9] Name Total Wins Tour de France Giro d'Italia Vuelta a España Eddy Merckx (BEL)11 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974) 5 (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) 1 (1973) Bernard Hinault (FRA)10 5 (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) 3 (1980, 1982, 1985) 2 (1978, 1983) Jacques Anquetil (FRA)8 5 (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) 2 (1960, 1964) 1 (1963) Miguel Indurain (ESP)7 5 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) 2 (1992, 1993) 0 Fausto Coppi (ITA)7 2 (1949, 1952) 5 (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953) 0 
Lance Armstrong (USA)7 7 (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) 0 0 Most Points Jerseys
Main article: Points Classification- 9: Erik Zabel –
Germany
- 8: Sean Kelly – Ireland
- 7: Laurent Jalabert – France
- 6: Eddy Merckx – Belgium
Winning the points classification in each of the three Grand Tours during a cyclist's career is a significant accomplishment.
The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by four riders – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Laurent Jalabert, Eddy Merckx and Alessandro Petacchi.
Most Grand Tour stage wins
Cyclists whose names are in bold are still active.[11] This list is complete up to the end of the 2011 Tour de France.
See also
References
- ^ a b c UCI Cyling regulations, p.56
- ^ a b UCI Cyling regulations, p.41
- ^ The Tour, the Giro and the Road World Cycling Championship make up the Triple Crown of Cycling.
- ^ An American in Italy cyclingnews.com, May 5, 2009
- ^ Million dollar, baby! cyclingnews.com, January 12, 2007
- ^ Vuelta a España A-Z cyclingnews.com, September 7, 2008
- ^ Tony Rominger, Cyling hall of fame]
- ^ Riche, Antoine (19 March 2005). "Doubler deux Grands Tours revient à la mode" (in French). CyclisMag. http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=917. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Cyling hall of fame
- ^ Petacchi equals Poblet and Baffi, September 9, 2003, Cyclingnews]
- ^ "Giro d'Italia 2009". Infostrada sports. 2009. p. 208. http://www.infostradasports.com/download/media/handbook.pdf. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Le Tour en chiffres : Les vainqueurs d'étapes". ASO. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/histo2009_07.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
Giro d'Italia 1909 · 1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914
suspended due to World War I
1919 · 1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940
suspended due to World War II
1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012
General classification
(maglia rosa)
Points classification
(maglia rosso passione)
Mountains classification
(maglia verde)
Young rider classification
(maglia bianca)
Defunct jerseys:
Last rider (maglia nera) • 
Intergiro classification (maglia azzurra)Vuelta a España 1935 · 1936
suspended due to Spanish Civil War
1941 · 1942
suspended due to World War II
1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012
General classification
Points classificationRoad bicycle racing Categories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
