When Are the Cycling Grand Tours? Grand tours cover long distances that place an immense physical strain on riders’ bodies, leading to fatigue and lower haemoglobin levels – leaving riders vulnerable to illness.
Riders will likely experience elevated cortisol levels – which may prevent sleep patterns from returning and make concentration more challenging.
The Tour de France
The Tour de France, along with Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana are the three Grand Tours of cycling, each lasting three weeks from start to finish with daily stages that traverse flat, rolling and mountainous terrain with rest days thrown in as needed. Competition can often come down to the wire for overall victory!
The 2023 Tour de France starts on July 1 and will crown a champion on July 23. This year’s route includes many classic mountain passes such as Tourmalet, Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux as well as steep summit finishes which require all competitors to bring out their best climbing legs.
This edition will include one time trial – a 22 km circuit in Passy – as a time trial competition. General classification contenders could make up any lost seconds here while Rafal Majka could use this chance to test himself as a breakaway specialist after winning Alpe d’Huez last year.
The final stage in Paris typically features a sprint finish that depends on who has survived the mountain stages and who feels good on race day. British fans should keep an eye out for Team Ineos defending champion Mark Cavendish; but he might face competition from Dane Jonas Vingegaard (former fish-packing plant worker turned winner of 2020 and 2021); Slovenian Tadej Pogacar; and Colombian Egan Bernal who all hold legitimate sprint finishes potentials.
The Giro d’Italia
The Giro d’Italia takes place annually in May and originated as an event by La Gazzetta’s founders who noticed how successful Tour de France sales were for their newspaper. Since 1909, it has featured three weeks of punishing climbs with temperatures often approaching 100F (40C).
2023 Tour de France route announced in October and it features seven summit finishes, and an extreme final week through the Dolomites. Furthermore, more than 70 kilometers will be covered via time trialing – an increase from last year’s 26.2 kilometers time trialling segment.
Stage 1 heads straight for the mountains with a punishing climb up Passo di Mortirolo before reaching Formia with a flat sprint finish. Next comes a flat stage to Casso Magnago before two back-to-back mountain stages conclude in Bergamo with stage 15 being an “Il Lombardia” style test with potential title contenders vying for their pink jersey.
The General Classification in the Giro de Italia is determined by adding up points awarded after each stage, with riders with the lowest total score receiving points at each stage and winning and donning the prestigious pink jersey as a prize. There are other individual classifications such as team, mountains and young rider classifications; five riders have won three consecutive general classification victories including Eddy Merckx.
The Vuelta a Espana
The Vuelta a Espana is an annual multi-stage bicycle race held primarily in Spain but occasionally traveling through neighboring countries. The current edition, starting 26 August and concluding 17 September 2018, marked its 78th edition; consisting of 21 stages with two time trials and seven mountain stages – winner is determined by cumulative time over all 21 stages; red jersey awarded upon finishing each stage; contests such as points classification for sprinters, mountains classification for climbers and combination classification awarded to all-rounders are held throughout this race as part of competition between riders as part of their participation in totality of overall leader competition during each stage – making the entire race 78th edition!
Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step is among the main favorites heading into La Vuelta. He won it once before in 2016, after dominating at the World Championships in Glasgow. Primoz Roglic from Jumbo-Visma will likely prove formidable opposition; Primoz won the Giro d’Italia earlier this year and may pose formidable competition to Evenepoel’s victory.
This year’s Vuelta route is typical, featuring steep climbing. Stage three features a long category two climb that should give sprinters trouble on later stages, before subsequent mountain stages like France’s Col du Tourmalet and Argentina’s Alto de L’Angliru take place back-to-back before another summit finish at Roc de L’Aubry marks an endpoint to this year’s event.
Read also: How Much Water Should You Drink When Cycling?
The Spring Classics
The Spring Classics are an iconic collection of one-day cycling races with long histories behind them, from Milan-San Remo’s winding route along Italy’s Ligurian coast, through Tour of Flanders with its cobblestoned parcours, until Paris-Roubaix – known as “Hellenic North.” Each race presents riders with a rigorous test – from Eddy Merckx’s seven wins consecutively up until Mathieu van der Poel’s Monument victories with his Canyon in 2020 and 2023!
Racers with the fastest cumulative time throughout three weeks of competition at any grand tour win the overall title, also known as general classification. Winners receive their race winner’s jersey: yellow for Tour de France, pink for Giro d’Italia and red for Vuelta a Espaa.
These races not only put riders through their paces, but they also showcase some of Europe’s most beautiful towns and landmarks that draw millions of spectators each year. Not only are these races considered sporting events, but many host countries consider them cultural events of considerable significance as well. With insightful text from top writers at L’Equipe magazine as well as hundreds of rare photos restored for this book The Classics offers unparalleled access into these great events.
