Grand Tour (cycling)

In bicycle racing a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:

Related Topics:
Bicycle racing - European

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• Tour de France - Tour of France
• Giro d'Italia - Tour of Italy
• Vuelta a España - Tour of Spain

Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three are similar in format. All are multi-week races with daily stages. The stages are a mix of long massed start races (sometimes including mountain and hill climbs and descents; others are flat stages favouring those with a sprint finish), as well as individual and team time trials and non-competitive exhibition and rest days.

Related Topics:
Climbs - Sprint - Individual - Team time trials

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The prizes include the individual general classification, the team classification, the King of the Mountains, the points competition, 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), king of the mountains classification (Polka dot jersey in the Tour de France), and points classification (Maillot vert in the Tour de France). Only two riders have won all three in the same race: Eddy Merckx in the 1969 Tour de France and Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a España.

Related Topics:
King of the Mountains - Maillot jaune - Polka dot jersey - Maillot vert - Eddy Merckx - 1969 - Laurent Jalabert - 1995

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No cyclist has ever won all three Grand Tour events in the same year. Only four cyclists have won all three of the Grand Tours during their career:

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• Jacques Anquetil; France; 5 Tours (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964), 2 Giros (1960, 1964), 1 Vuelta (1963).
• Felice Gimondi; Italy; 1 Tour (1965), 3 Giros (1967, 1969, 1976), 1 Vuelta (1968)
• Eddy Merckx; Belgium; 5 Tours (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), 5 Giros (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), 1 Vuelta (1973)
• Bernard Hinault; France; 5 Tours (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985), 3 Giros (1980, 1982, 1985), 2 Vueltas (1978, 1983)

Only three cyclists have won stages in all three of the Grand Tours in the same year:

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• Miguel Poblet; Spain; (1956)
• Pierino Baffi; Italy; (1958)
• Alessandro Petacchi; Italy; (2003)

Each team in the Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union) ProTour must race in all three, though they may change riders between the events.

Related Topics:
Union Cycliste Internationale - ProTour

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