by Dean Woods with Rupert Guiness
The Great Races
Cycling has come a long way since 31 May 1869 - the day an Englishman named James Moore won the first ever massed-start cycle race, Paris-Rouen.
More than a century on, allover the world - from Australia, the United States, Great Britain, France, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, to even India and the Middle East - it's a safe bet that on nearly every day of the year somebody, somewhere, is putting their feet in the pedals and gearing up to race.
Whether it's for the Tour de France, a one-day classic, track pursuit, sprint or even a D-grade Sunday club race, the taste of competition lives within so many people.
While we can't list every race, it is possible to paint a picture of the great races in cycling. In many ways, this picture will illustrate a power pyramid of cycling which has Europe, unsurprisingly, firmly on top.
The Old World [back to top]
Cycle racing began in Europe. So it's only natural that the sport's traditional 'bloodline' comes from Europe where the biggest, most publicised and commercial races are held. Unlike other parts of the world, cycling is a major sport there.
European interest focuses mainly on the professional road-racing scene, which itself is divided between the tours and one-day races, of which a number of select events are labelled 'classics'. The track circuit comes to the fore in winter, which is in between the finish and start of road seasons.
The Tours [back to top]
The term tour is given to a race which passes through various regions over a number of days. Tours are otherwise known as stage races, where the overall winner is the rider with the fastest accumulated time for the distance.
A tour is by no means a vacation! On the contrary, it is a punishing marathon which can last anything from a weekend to three weeks. Not only is it a test of a rider's all-round capacity to sptint, climb and time-trial, it is also a test of almost super-human endurance and - as modern racing becomes faster - recuperation.
Tour de France [back to top]
The grandest and toughest stage race of them all. It is held every July, encompasses three weeks (although until 1987 it lasted for four weeks) and, of all the tours, draws the most publicity world-wide.
For all riders in the Tour, being one of the 200 competitors who lineup at the start is a privilege. Just to compete in, let alone to finish, the Tour sets them above those who don't make the grade. Actually winning a stage or a category like the 'King of the Mountains' puts them in another league altogether. And the person who wins the prized 'maillot jaune', the leader's yellow jersey, is accorded an almost god-like status! To make the pressures of notoriety worthwhile there is also the virtual guarantee of a US$2 million-plus annual income to be made. On top of this the winner gets a prize purse of 2 million French francs (approximately A$600 000) which is given to team-mates and personnel to share.
Since the first Tour in 1903, French riders have won 35 of the 80 editions. The country next in line is Belgium with 18 wins, and Spain - thanks to Miguel lndurain's quadruple spree in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 - with six. Australia's best result has been two fifth places in 1982 and 1985 achieved by Victorian Phil Anderson, who also won stages in 1982 and 1991 and spent 11 days in the yellow jersey.
To Europeans, and especially to the French, the Tour is as much a part of tradition as the French Revolution. It has only not been held during the two World Wars. Barely an afternoon passes every July without people in cafes, business offices and homes everywhere crowding round the television to watch the live coverage of 'Le Tour'.
It is not surprising that the Tour is so commercially driven today. It always has been, and its organisers, the Societe du Tour de France, don't hide the fact. It began in 1903 as a publicity stunt by Henri Desgrange for the French sports paper L'Auto. It is because the paper's pages were then yellow that the leader's/winner's jersey is yellow today.
Since that first six-stage 2428-kilometre (1509-mile) edition of the Tour there have been many changes, nevertheless. Its format hasn't always been the same. Today the Tour is usually about 21 stages long, because the race entourage stops and re-starts every day - unlike the early days when competitors would ride on into the night.
Another major change has been the make-up of the field. Up until the mid 1960s both individuals and national teams competed. And the very first Tour in 1903 began with only 60 riders, of whom 21 finished. Today the field is made up of 22 trade-sponsored teams with a maximum total number of 198 riders. While the number of finishers varies, the average is about 120.
The Tour's route changes each year. It is now a major end-of-season event when Tour organisers gather the European cycling media together every October to reveal next year's course. The purpose of the route change is to constantly create new challenges for riders, as well as to extract more money from the various regions visited. Towns and cities have to fight a bargaining battle to earn the 'honour' of having the Tour pass through their streets. It is particulatly expensive for a town to host a stage start or finish. And for those towns wanting to stage the Tour start - usually a three-day affair - it can cost up to A$2.5 million!
The Tour de France may be the sport's 'holy grail', but there are two other major three-week tours which, although not as internationally influential, are just as significant in their home countries. They are the Tours of Spain and Italy - the Vuelta a Espania and Giro d'Italia respectively.
Vuelta a Espana [back to top]
The Tour of Spain is the youngest of the 'big three'. It was first held in 1935 over 14 stages on a 3411-kilometre (2119-mile) course. To Spaniards - competitors and spectators alike - it is a national festival which challenges the Tour de France for razzmatazz.
The Vuelta isn't so popular among foreigners, though, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, it began and continued during a period when the rest of Europe was engaged in a world war. Then, in the days of the Franco government, its staging was interpreted by some as a shop window for fascist propaganda.
It is also problematic in purely sporting terms: its traditional calendar slot has made the Vuelta an extremely demanding race for non-Spaniards who have just completed the spell of spring one-day classics in Belgium and France. Not only are most foreigners already fatigued, but the often cold and wet weather of northern Europe hardly prepares them for conditions in Spain, which can be extreme, raging heat suddenly snapping into a bitingly cold, snowy front. Foreigners also have to contend against Spanish riders and teams who are at their seasonal peak.
From its 48 editions up until 1994, Spaniards have won the Vuelta 21 times. Eight titles have gone to French riders, seven to Belgians, four to Italians, three to Swiss, two to Dutch and one each to German, Irish and Colombian riders.
There have been many tales of foreign riders falling victim to organised combines from local teams who prefer to help one of their own countrymen win - even if they are from another team! Five-times Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault of France won the Vuelta in 1978 and 1983 and came away claiming it was one of his hardest victories. And two-times runner-up Robert Millar of Scotland even saw a virtually assured win 'stolen' from him in 1985 when almost the entire Spanish contingent combined on the penultimate day to ride against him. He was race leader when the day began, yet by that afternoon, a break led by Spaniard Pedro Delgado had got more than six minutes up the road before Millar - surrounded and boxed in by silent Spaniards - received news of the attack from officials.
There have been two important phases to the Vuelta's recent development. The first was when the current race organisers, Unipublic, took over the race in 1982 after being co-organisers for three years from 1979. Unipublic's influence was as commercially driven as that of the Societe du Tour de France but, even with the oxygen of sponsorship, it was not until 1990 that international interest in the Vuelta began to grow.
The second phase was scheduled to take place in 1995. This was the controversial move to change the date of the Vuelta from May to September. Debate (sometimes ugly) over the change continues to this day, but in 1993 the UCI and Unipublic put their stamp o(approval on the plan, believing the move would help the event's standing. While fans of year-round events will be robbed of an early three-week 'major tour', it was believed the move would create more interest from foreign competitors and the media.
However, the Vuelta still suffers because many big teams focus on the Tours of Italy or France. Up until 1994, Unipublic hadn't yet succeeded in getting Miguel Induraih to make his first return to the Vuelta battlefront since 1991 when he lost to another Spaniard - Melchior Mauri.
Furthermore, by staging the race in September, cycling administrators are hoping the Vuelta may become a 'grudge' race of sorts - a platform for those who have 'failed' in France or Italy to avenge their performances. This is unlikely, because it would be hard for riders to tackle such a long race competitively after a gruelling ordeal like the Tour de France. But it is feared that as the Vuelta is now held so soon after the world championships, it may run the risk of becoming obsolete. Time will tell.
Giro d'ltalia [back to top]
The Tour of Italy, or Giro, is probably the one major tour which has not undergone any dramatic change - nor has it needed to. Its slot in June is petfect for local teams wanting to tackle a spting classic programme and then peak for their national tour, or for those riders wanting to prepare for the Tour de France.
The Giro was first run in 1909, founded by the Italian sports daily, Gazzetta deUo Sport, who are still organisers today. While it has never lacked a Latin bias, it has been a race traditionally fairer to foreign riders in recent years.
In the last ten years, up until and including 1994, Italians have won on only three occasions, with the last being Franco Chioccioli in 1991. Showing signs of the sport's increasing internationalism, six 'stranieri' (foreign) champions have won on seven occasions and have come from such diverse countries as Ireland (Stephen Roche /1987), the United States (Andy Hampsten /1988), France (Bernard Hinault / 1985 and Laurent Fignon /1989), Spain (Miguel Indurain / 1992 and 1993) and Russia (Eugeni Berzin /1994).
The Giro's timing is definitely an attraction for foreign riders. They come to the race expecting a strong national front, yet they can at least challenge it knowing they are prepared. This is often not the case with the Vuelta. Other advantages include better hygiene, dietary standards and weather than is generally the case in Spain.
Sponsors also reap greater returns ftom the Giro than they do at the Vuelta, simply because it is rated as the second biggest of the three major tours. This is the result of investment by Italian cycling manufacturers who sponsor teams from around the world. (This isn't the case in Spain.)
The Giro has been held 77 times since its birth. And Italians have won on 54 occasions, the first foreign winner being Switzerland's Hugo Koblet in 1950. Other countries which have won the Giro are Belgium (seven victories), France (six), Switzerland (three), Luxemburg and Spain (two), and the US, Ireland and Russia (one).
There are other tours, ranging in length and prestige. Nearly every country in Europe has its own national tour, while many have regional tours as well, in which many valued titles are up for grabs. It is generally acknowledged that the fourth largest tour is the ten-day Tour of Switzerland in June.
After that comes an array of races ranging from six to eight days in length. There are season-opening events like the Ruta del Sol in Spain and the Tour Mediterraneen and Etoile de Besseges in France; there are 'major' races like Paris-Nice in France and Tirreno-Adtiatico in Italy, which act as headlining build-ups to the first classics, and there is a constant run of minor races, most of which precede a greater event on the calendar like the tours of France, Italy and Spain or the world championships.
The One-day Classics [back to top]
As with the tours, the calendar of one-day races has its 'creme de la creme'. They are simply called the 'classics'. Many of them fall into a season-long World Cup competition of one-day events which is split into two terms - spring and autumn.
The 'monuments' of these races are: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Lombardy.
They may just be names to anyone not brought up on cycling, but in European households they have an almost religious significance because of their long heritage.
Milan-San Remo [back to top]
First raced in 1907, Milan-San Remo in Italy in March is the first classic of the year and hence is called the 'Primavera'. It is a marathon at nearly 300 kilometres (186 miles), yet its notoriety comes not from its length but for the crescendo of excitement created from the decisive moves on the hills in the last 60 kilometres (37 miles) where the race follows the winding Mediterranean coastline to San Remo.
Tour of Flanders [back to top]
This race in Belgium usually takes place two weeks after Milan-San Remo in early April. Yet it heralds the first of a bout of one-day races in northern Europe called the 'spring classics'. It first appeared on the calendar in 1913 and has since developed the honour of being known as one of the toughest of all classics. Not only is it long, at 265 kilometres (165 miles), but its terrain also demands a true 'all-rounder' for a winner. Riders have to do combat against wind, normally foul weather and an array of narrow, twisting country lanes and steep hills.
Paris-Roubaix [back to top]
Created in 1896, this is the most prestigious race in its class, one of its two monikers being the 'Queen of the Classics'. The darker side of this punishing event is equally well described in its other label: the 'Hell of the North'. The name is due to the event's back-breaking stretch of cobblestones which make up about 55 kilometres (34 miles) of the route. Often contested in wet conditions, the sectors of loaf-sized Roman cobbles provoke a number of dramatic crashes and punctures. Riders either love Paris-Roubaix or hate it - and the relationship is born on a rider's first encounter.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege [back to top]
Because it is the oldest of the major classics, this race is fittingly called the 'doyenne'. When it was born in 1892, however, it was an amateur race only. The creation of a professional edition came two years later. Its distinct trademark is the accordion of forested hills of the Belgian Ardennes near the German and Dutch frontiers. Traditionally it's been seen as a climbers' race, but recent editions have seen all-rounders win.
Tour of Lombardy [back to top]
The fifth monument is at the tail-end of the season, and closes the World Cup. It is held in Italy in October. Also known as the 'Race of the Falling Leaves', since it is held during autumn, this monument of racing is a tough event. Part of the route is over hills and one or two smaller mountains around picturesque Lake Como. Another factor in the equation is its place at the end of the season - in late October most riders are on their last legs after ten months of classics and tours.
Complementing these five classics in the World Cup are five more one-day events: the Amstel Gold in Holland, the Championship of Zurich in Switzerland, the Leeds International in England, the Classico San Sebasticin in Spain and Paris-Tours in France. Interspersing these, but without World Cup status, are such one-day races as Het Yolk, Ghent-Wevelgem, Fleche-Wallonne and Paris-Brussels in Belgium, the Grand Prix of Frankfurt in Germany; and the Giro del Lazio, Milan-Turin and Tour of Piemonte in Italy.
There is only one one-day race which arguably surpasses any other - yet doesn't have a 'classic' tag to it. This is the World Professional Road Race Championship. Held every year at a different location, at the very end of a two-week spell of track and road world titles, the Professional crown is a veritable lottery. (After 1995, track and road world titles will be held at separate locations at different times.) While riders officially represent their country and race in national colours, many still abide by trade-team loyalties - unless they are in a winning position themselves!
The Track Circuit [back to top]
Track racing in Europe is mainly a winter affair. The world championships may be in August (towards the end of the European summer), but for many trackmen and women, those titles mark the start of a season which doesn't really reach its peak until October.
The main racing events are the Six-day and Sprinters' Grand Prix circuits. The Open des Nations format, where eight-person national teams compete against each other over a variety of events, is also picking up in popularity.
Six-day Racing [back to top]
Six-day racing's origins go back to the turn of the century and to the United States, where cycling rivalled baseball in the popularity stakes. Today its feet are finnly fixed in Europe, with Gennany being its power-base. The six-day calendar used to have as many as 17 races, but now it is generally down to 12 events. In a Six-day Race, riders pair up in two-person teams and over six nights of racing between 8 p.m. and 2-3 a.m. they compete in a variety of madisons, derny events and sprints, with one rider usually resting while the other races (except in the madison, where both riders compete).
Sprinters' Grand Prix [back to top]
This is a recent addition to winter track racing. It is now a part of the six-day programme, although riders competing in the Grand Prix do not race in the six-day event as well. While providing the world's best sprinters with an income source from competition, the excitement of pushing, shoving and tactical one-upmanship in Grand Prix sprint racing is a real crowd-pleaser.
Women's Racing [back to top]
Women's competition has a relatively brief life span. On a world-championship level, it started in 1958 with a 59-kilometre (37-mile) road race and an individual pursuit and match sprint race on the track. And it was not until 1984 at Los Angeles that it became a fixture in the Olympic programme.
Women's racing has a full calendar of events lasting from March until November. The focal points of this calendar are in Europe, the main road events being:
- Three Days of Vendee: held in early April, it is a three-stage race.
- Tour de l'Aude in France: held in early to mid May, it is a ten-day stage race officially ranked in the 'Super' category by the UCI.
- Omloop't Molenheike in Holland: held in mid to late May, this is also a Super category stage race, although it's held over four days.
- Tour of West Norway: a five-day Super category race held in late June, or early July.
- Tour of Italy Feminin: a national-classed stage race held over seven days in early July.
- Tour Cycliste Feminin in France: not to be mistaken with the now-defunct Tour de France Feminin, this race is still the biggest stage race on the women's calendar. Lasting two weeks, it is a Super category race.
Men's Amateur and Open Racing [back to top]
The following are the leading amateur and open (amateur and professional) stage events on the calendar. For amateurs - and new professionals eligible to race in open events - these races are not only major events in their own right, but also important stepping stones to future careers.
- Tour of Normandy, France (amateur - March / 8 days)
- Settimana Ciclista Bergamasca, Italy (open - April / 11 days)
- Circuit Franco-Belge, Belgium (amateur - April / 6 days)
- Giro Regioni Primavera d'Italia (amateur - April / 6 days)
- Peace Race, Czechoslovakia (amateur - May / 10 days)
- Tour of Sweden (open - June / 7 days)
- Tour of Austria (amateur - June / 10 days)
- Tour of Germany (amateur - July / 11 days)
- Regio Tour, Germany (open - August / 7 days)
- Tour de l'Avenir, France (open - September / 11 days)
The New World [back to top]
Europe is not the only place for top-level racing. The sport is rapidly expanding to new frontiers.
Australia [back to top]
Australia has become an increasingly popular venue internationally. End-of-year professional events like the Vic Health Herald-Sun Tour of Victoria have seen more and more Europeans competing. And in New South Wales, the Pacific Power Commonwealth Bank Classic in October has cemented its reputation as one of the biggest amateur stage races on the international calendar. As from 1995, it will be Open as well.
Other major domestic events in Australia include Melbourne-Warnambool, Grafton-Inverell, Goulburn-Liverpool and the Tasmanian Christmas Carnival track series. Adelaide is also the location for some great track racing where packed crowds fill the recently built Superdrome at meetings between October and March.
North America [back to top]
North America has long been targeted for serious expansion. While attempts to stage a World Cup race at Montreal in Canada fizzled out after several years (due to financial restraints), stage races in the United States have been reasonably successful. Admittedly the Coors Classic has disappeared after initially receiving the 'thumbs up' from visiting Europeans in 1986, but it looks as though the Tour Du Pont is heading towards greener pastures. Until recently it clashed with the Tour of Spain but, with the Spanish event's shift to September in 1995, organisers are hoping the Tour Du Pont will now become the major May stage race on the calendar.
Great Britain [back to top]
Cycling in the British Isles has had its share of mixed fortunes. In England the Kellogg's Tour has survived, thanks to its calendar position as a warm-up for the Leeds International Wodd Cup race, which takes place two days afterwards. And nothing could have been better to promote the sport than the three-day passage of the Tour de France in 1994.
Yet one of the saddest blows to British cycling came in the same year when the Milk Race - one of the toughest pro-am stage races in the world - was called off due to the loss of sponsorship from the British Milk Marketing Board. The Milk Race tradition lives on in Scotland and Ireland, though, where Milk Boards there continue to sponsor stage races. Another big pro-am race in Britain is the Tour of Lancashire.
Ireland [back to top]
As with the Coors Classic in the US, the Nissan Classic of Ireland was just becoming a favourite among visiting European teams when its financial support collapsed and the event was shelved after 1992. Moves are afoot to bring the race back.
Japan [back to top]
Japan is a country in which cycling interest is centred on the professional league of Keirin racing, where spectators bet on riders, as they would on horses or greyhounds.
Major races in other countries which mirror the global expansion of cycling include the Ruta del Mexico, the Tour of Taiwan, the Rapport Tour of South Africa, the Tour of Israel and the Tour of Burkino Fasso in Africa.
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