The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar . Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most revered races are often described as the cycling monuments .
23-601: Wincanton Classic (also known as Leeds International Classic and Rochester International Classic ) was a cycling classic taking place in the United Kingdom as part of the UCI Road World Cup . It was first held in 1989 in Newcastle , moving to Brighton in 1990 and 1991. The following year it was moved to Leeds , to be known as Leeds International Classic between 1994 and 1996. In its last year it
46-525: A personal nature. One of the few objective criteria is the official categorization of races as classified by the UCI, although this is not a defining feature either, as many fans dispute the presence of some of the highest-categorized races and some older races are not included in the UCI World Tour . Because of the growing ambiguity and inflation of the term "classic", the much younger term "monument"
69-708: The Omloop are the Leberg , Berendries , Taaienberg , Muur van Geraardsbergen , Eikenberg and Molenberg . Due to its hilly course in the Flemish Ardennes, the race is similar in nature to the Tour of Flanders , and is often used in preparation for the bigger event five weeks later. The 2016 race featured one new climb, Boembekeberg, as a replacement for the Molenberg, which was skipped because of road works. This
92-523: The Flemish Ardennes in the south of the province , featuring numerous short climbs, before returning to Ghent. From 1996 until 2007 the finish was in Lokeren , 20 km east of Ghent. At 200 kilometres and with 13 climbs in the hill zone , the course is challenging and arduous. Additionally, there are several flat stretches of cobbles. Despite annual changes, some of the regular climbs in
115-851: The Omloop , but receive a lot of attention because of their position early in the season, typically in February. Together, Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo, the Cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics make up the "Spring Classics", all held in March and April. After Liege, the one-day races begin to give way to the stage races leading to the Grand Tours between May and September. Although there are no 'monuments' in this period, some important summer classics are held from July to September. Following
138-604: 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 . The UCI ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series (1989–2004) which contained only one-day races. Many of the classics, and all the Grand Tours , were not part of
161-610: The UCI 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. Since 2009, many classic cycle races are part of the UCI World Tour . Although cycling fans and sports media eagerly use the term "classic", there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a classic cycling race. UCI , the international governing body of cycling, has no mention at all of
184-524: The end of the Vuelta a Espana in early September, the nature of the racing once more tends towards the one-day races. The autumn classics are held from September to November. Some Classics have disappeared, often because of financial problems. These include: The Monuments are generally considered to be the oldest, hardest and most prestigious one-day events in cycling. They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently
207-443: The name was too close to their own – there is little semantic difference between "Ronde" and "Omloop". The Belgian cycling federation demanded Het Volk to change the name of the event, prompting Het Volk to serve as title sponsor of their own race. In 2009 the former rival newspapers Het Volk and Het Nieuwsblad merged, causing the event to be renamed Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for its 64th edition. Until 2016, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
230-609: The one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour . Since the early 2000s, many classic events have started women's races, now part of the UCI Women's World Tour . These events are often held on the same day or on the same weekend of the men's races. Three of the five cycling 'monuments' have equivalent races: Tour of Flanders for Women (first held in 2004), Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes (first held in 2017) and Paris–Roubaix Femmes (first held in 2021). A women's version of Milan–San Remo, named Primavera Rosa ,
253-631: The opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant prestige because of it. Since 2017 , the race is part of the UCI World Tour , cycling's top-tier professional events. The race starts in Ghent , Flanders and finishes in Ninove , Flanders . The race route covers the hills in the Flemish Ardennes , marking
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#1732802487588276-611: The race was called Omloop van Vlaanderen ("Circuit of Flanders") . The event was initiated by Flemish newspaper Het Volk , in response to rivaling newspaper Het Nieuwsblad ' s classic , the Tour of Flanders . Het Volk , of left-leaning publication, wanted to start a new cycling event in Flanders as a rival race to what it saw as the Tour of Flanders' closeness to the Nazis during World War II. The Ronde's organizers protested that
299-670: The race. Belgians have won 56 editions, although, exemplary for the growing international status of the race, they have only won four of the last ten editions. In 1948 Italian cycling icon Fausto Coppi won the race, but was disqualified for receiving an illegal wheel-change. The record for wins is three, shared by Joseph Bruyère , Ernest Sterckx and Peter van Petegem . Bruyère holds the fastest average (43.35 km/h) for his 1975 win. Other notable winners include Eddy Merckx , Roger De Vlaeminck , Freddy Maertens , Johan Museeuw , Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd . Omloop Het Nieuwsblad starts in Ghent , East Flanders , and addresses
322-573: The route too dangerous and riders' safety could not be guaranteed. In modern times, organizers rely heavily on weather forecasts and adjust the course if some sectors are deemed unsafe. Unrelated to the weather, the 1960 race was cancelled following a disagreement between the organizers and cycling's ruling body UCI . Traditionally the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, the race holds particular importance for Belgian cyclists. Throughout its history, Belgian riders, comfortable with cold weather and aided by large, supportive crowds, have dominated
345-793: The start of the cobbled classics season in Europe. Due to its early calendar date, it is characterized by often cold weather, coming as a contrast to the early-season stage races in the Middle East and Southern Europe. The day after the Omloop , Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne completes the opening weekend. Since 2006, a women's edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is held on the same day as the men's race, also starting in Ghent and finishing in Ninove, approximately 130 kilometres in distance. Both events are organized by Flanders Classics . First held in 1945,
368-431: The term in its rulings. This poses problems to define the characteristics of these races and makes it impossible to make precise lists. Several criteria are used to denote the importance of a cycling race: date of creation, historical importance and tradition, commercial importance, location, level of difficulty, level of competition field, etc. However, many of these paradigms tend to shift over time and are often opinions of
391-490: Was always on the Saturday before Liege–Bastogne–Liege (it was known as The Ardennes Weekend), before being shortened and moved to the preceding Wednesday. The remaining five then became known as the 'Monuments'. Rik van Looy is the only rider to win all eight. Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck both won seven, both missing out at Paris–Tours. Season openers are usually not regarded as highly as other classics apart from
414-594: Was held in Rochester as Rochester International Classic . In 1998 it was replaced in the UCI Road World Cup by the HEW Cyclassics . This cycling race-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sport in England is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Classic cycle races For the 2005 to 2007 seasons, some classics formed part of
437-454: Was initiated in 1999, but cancelled after 2005. Other major races include La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (first held in 1998), Women's Amstel Gold Race (first held in 2001) and Strade Bianche Donne (first held in 2015). Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , previously Omloop Het Volk , is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is
460-537: Was introduced in the 21st century to denote the five most revered of the classic cycling races. Until the 1980s there were originally eight recognised classics, the five Monuments (see Cycling Monuments below) plus La Flèche Wallonne , Paris–Brussels and Paris–Tours . Due to various traffic and organizational problems these events came and went in various guises (for example, Paris–Tours became Blois–Chaville, before returning in its current form). Paris–Brussels disappeared altogether between 1967 and 1976. Flèche Wallonne
483-676: Was on the Emile Clauslaan thoroughfare , near the starting place. The following riders have won the race: Riders in italics are active Since 2006 there is a women's version of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Held on the same day as the men's event, it uses much of the same roads and equally opens the women's cycling season in Northern Europe. In recent editions the route is 122 km, featuring eight climbs and six sections of cobbles. The race became part of
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#1732802487588506-498: Was ranked as a 1.HC event of the UCI Europe Tour ; since 2017, it is included in the UCI World Tour . Due to its early-season calendar date, the race has occasionally been affected by cold and wintry conditions. Three editions of the event were cancelled. The 1971 race was postponed due to snow and run three weeks later. In 1986 and 2004 organizers were forced to cancel the race, as snow and freezing temperatures had made
529-523: Was reversed for the 2017 race . Both the official start and finish are traditionally on Ghent's largest square, Sint-Pietersplein . Every seven years however, when Easter comes early in the year, the square is booked for the annual Mid-Lent fair and organizers need to find different locations. In 2016 and 2017, the Citadel city park , next to the Kuipke velodrome, served as start location. The finish
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